Not Quite So Young
by MaureenT
Summary: After the events of Enigma, Daniel's job and freedom are threatened, leading to an incredible adventure that he may not survive. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Not Quite So Young **

**Author:** MaureenT  
**Rating:** T  
**Status:** In Progress  
**Categories:** Angst, Action/Adventure  
**Content Warning:** Mild Profanity, Violence  
**Spoilers:** The Nox, Cor-ai, Enigma

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

Daniel gazed up at the stars, thinking about the message that had just gone streaking through space to the Nox.

He glanced at his watch, wondering how long it would take the Nox to reply and hoping that his and Omoc's absence wouldn't be discovered. It had taken a lot of talking to get the guards to leave the room so that he could talk to the Tollans in private, and he didn't know how long they'd wait until losing patience.

Daniel returned his gaze to the stars. He sensed Omoc's eyes on him.

"Why is it that you are helping us?" the Tollan asked after a few seconds.

Daniel met his gaze. "Because it's the right thing to do."

"And that is the only reason?"

"Isn't that enough?"

Omoc's head dipped slightly in acknowledgment. "Forgive me, Doctor Jackson. Narim has told me that you can be trusted, that you and your teammates are good and honorable people who only wish to help us, but my experiences with more primitive cultures have taught me to be cynical. I am finding it hard to understand why you would risk yourself to help us when you will get nothing in return."

Daniel thought about how to answer the Tollan. "My people are fighting a war against an enemy of superior numbers and technology. The Goa'uld fight without conscience. They will sacrifice thousands, slaughter millions, to get what they want. We've been lucky so far, but, someday, that luck might run out, and the Earth will be destroyed or enslaved. Because of that, there are people in our government and military who will do whatever it takes to get the weapons we need. They believe that the end justify the means."

"And what of you?"

"I believe that, if we sacrifice what sets us apart from the Goa'uld, our morality and our conscience, then we've already lost the war since we would be no better than the ones who want to conquer us."

Omoc stared at Daniel appraisingly for a long moment. "You show great wisdom for one who is so young."

Surprised by the compliment, Daniel said, "Thank you. I'm . . . honored that you would think so."

They sat in silence for a while.

"What will become of you after we are gone?" Omoc asked. "Will you be punished for defying your superiors?"

"Well, I'm not in the military, so they can't court-martial me, but they could do other things. I could lose my job, be thrown out of the program."

Omoc heard the tension in the younger man's voice. "This would upset you."

"Yes. My wife was taken by the Goa'uld and turned into a host. The main reason why I go through the Stargate is the hope of finding and rescuing her. If I'm removed from the program, I wouldn't be able to look for her anymore."

"I was unaware that this was of such a personal nature for you."

"Well, you had no way of knowing."

Omoc studied him closely. "Is being removed from this program all that could happen to you?"

"I don't know. Jack thinks that I'll be okay, but Maybourne has a lot of powerful connections. I guess there is a possibility that they could try to arrest me, though I'm not sure what charges they'd file against me. Maybe treason."

"Treason. And what is the penalty for treason on your world?"

"Usually either life imprisonment or death, I think, depending on the severity of the crime."

An expression close to horror filled Omoc face. "You would be executed?"

"No, I really don't think so. The chances of that happening are pretty remote. I'd more likely be thrown in jail."

"I did not realize that you risked so much."

Daniel shrugged faintly. "Like I said, Jack believes that nothing like that will happen. I'll just have to hope that, if he's wrong, General Hammond has enough influence with our president to keep me out of prison."

Omoc searched the face of the archeologist. "There is another option."

"What?"

"You could come with us."

Daniel's mouth dropped open in shock. "Come with you? You mean live with the Tollans?"

Omoc nodded once.

"But . . . but what about the whole primitive cultures thing? I mean, if I was living with your people, I'd be using your technology. Aren't you afraid that I'd steal some of it and somehow give it to Earth?"

"Would you ever do such a thing?"

"No," Daniel replied without hesitation.

The faintest of smiles touched Omoc's lips. "That it why I do not fear making this offer."

Daniel gaped at the Tollan, stunned by the significance of the man's words. "I-I don't know what to say, Omoc. I'm . . . very flattered that you would trust me in that way. Thank you."

"Then you accept my offer?"

Daniel sighed softly. "I can't. It's like I said. I need to keep looking for my wife. I can't give up."

"But if you lose your job or if you are imprisoned, how will you find her?"

"I don't know. I just know that I can't give up and run away yet, not when there's still a chance that everything will work out okay."

Again, there was silence. A few minutes later, a bright streak of light heralded the arrival of a returning message.

"Wow, that was fast," Daniel commented, having expected to be waiting for a lot longer.

Omoc read the message that had been received. "The Nox say that they welcome us to their world and will unbury their Stargate. One of them will come for us."

"Did they say when?"

"No. Any time measurement they would have given would be meaningless to us since we have no knowledge of how they measure time."

"Right. Of course. That's going to be a problem, though. We need to have you in the gate room when they arrive." Daniel thought about the problem. "Okay, wait. I think I've got an idea. It took about ten of our minutes to send your message and receive theirs. Can you send them another message, tell them that, and ask them to come in one hundred and eighty minutes? All they'd have to do is compare our minutes to however many of their units of time passed, and then calculate how long one hundred and eighty of our minutes is. That would work, right?"

Omoc smiled and nodded. "Yes, that would work." He pressed one of the buttons, waited about half a minute, then pressed the button again. He set it on the ground and sent the new message.

"How did you do that? I mean, how did you record the message?" Daniel asked. "Does it record your thoughts?"

"Yes."

It only took three minutes for the return message to arrive. The Nox agreed to the time Daniel had suggested.

The two men slowly made their way down the mountain through the darkness. As they walked, Daniel filled the Tollan in on the details of the rest of his plan. They were approaching the spot where they would reenter the base when Omoc laid a hand on Daniel's arm. Startled, the linguist stopped and looked at him. The Tollan handed the communications device to him.

"In case you have need," he said quietly.

"W-what? What do you mean?"

"If you need our assistance, contact us, and we will help."

"B-b-but, um . . . you said you wouldn't give our people any advanced technology."

Omoc got another one of those tiny smiles. "I am not giving it to your people. I am giving it to _you_. I trust that you will use it wisely. Besides, there is nothing within this that can be used to create weapons. It has only one purpose."

Omoc instructed him on how to use the device. "If we receive a message from you, we will know that you are in need, and someone will come through the Stargate to get you."

Daniel looked down at the device in his hand. "Thank you, Omoc. I hope I won't have to use this."

"As do I."

* * *

The Tollans were gone, off to the Nox world. The members of SG-1 were all pretty pleased that things had worked out the way they did . . . that is until Maybourne demanded a meeting with General Hammond instead of going straight back to Washington to squawk. Daniel, Jack, Hammond and Maybourne were now all in the briefing room, and nobody was having any fun.

"Doctor Jackson, what you did could be considered an act of treason," Colonel Maybourne said, glaring at the archeologist.

"What?" Jack exclaimed, staring at the man sitting across the briefing room table. "Oh, give me a break, Maybourne. Daniel didn't give aid to an enemy. He helped prevent a bunch of peaceful aliens from being unlawfully held captive by you NID goons."

"I was acting under the sanction of the president."

"Yeah, right. He probably just agreed to go along with this because you lied your ass off and told him that, if given time, you could peacefully convince the Tollans to give us their technology, and then you'd let them go free." Jack sneered. "Of course, _we_ all know the truth, now don't we."

"What the president did or did not believe is none of my concern. The point is that Doctor Jackson defied presidential orders and helped in the escape of the Tollans. In doing so, he prevented us from obtaining valuable technology that could have been used to protect this country and this planet."

"The Tollans would never have given you what you want, Colonel," Daniel said quietly. "They'd have all died first."

"We'd have gotten what we wanted," Maybourne stated confidently.

"How? By torturing them? Excuse me, but isn't that illegal? Oh, wait. I forgot. You think you're above the law, that laws don't apply to you. What you were going to do was wrong. You had no right."

Maybourne sneered at him. "Oh, please, Doctor Jackson. Don't bother with the morality speech. We're in a war in which morality has to take a back seat."

"Well, it's a good thing that most people involved in the Stargate Program don't agree with you, Colonel. Otherwise, we might as well ally ourselves with the Goa'uld since we'd be just as contemptible as they are."

"Save the speeches for your trial, Doctor Jackson, because I'm going to do everything in my power to see that you go to prison."

"Not gonna happen, Maybourne," Jack growled.

"You can't do a thing to stop it, O'Neill. You should just be grateful that I have no proof that you and Captain Carter had a hand in this, otherwise, you'd both be court-martialed and jailed. And as for your pet Jaffa, he was in the gate room with Doctor Jackson, so there's no doubt that he was involved, but, since he is not under the jurisdiction of this government as of yet, I can't arrest him. So, I'll just have to be satisfied with Jackson."

Jack got to his feet, his eyes glittering dangerously. He leaned over the table until he was right in Maybourne's face. "You listen to me, Maybourne, and listen good. I am not going to let you take your petty revenge out on Daniel. I will stop you, no matter what it takes. Understand?"

"Is that a threat, O'Neill?"

"You bet it is."

"Gentleman!" Hammond shouted. "That is enough! Colonel O'Neill, return to your seat." He waited until Jack has settled back in his chair, then turned to Maybourne. "Colonel Maybourne, I would advise you not to attempt to file charges against Doctor Jackson. The second I leave this room, I will be placing a call to the president and enlightening him about a few facts and suspicions I have regarding you and what you intended to do to the Tollans, and I can be pretty certain that he is not going to be happy, especially if, as Colonel O'Neill said, you pulled the wool over his eyes. In addition, I happen to know that he is a great admirer of Doctor Jackson and will have no desire to see the man who opened the Stargate imprisoned unjustly." The general didn't notice how Daniel's eyes widened at that last piece of news. "Now, please leave this facility before you try my patience any further."

Maybourne did not reply, but the look he gave Daniel was a promise that this was not over. Rising from the table, he left the room without a backwards glance.

Jack looked at his friend. "Don't you worry, Daniel. There's no way we're going to let you go to jail."

"Unfortunately, Colonel, though I have confidence that we can keep Doctor Jackson out of prison, I fear that we may not be able to prevent him from being removed from the program," Hammond said quietly. "There is going to be a lot of pressure to fire him."

Daniel's gaze dropped to the table. "Yeah, I kind of figured that," he said with a sigh.

"Hey." Jack waited for the archeologist to look at him. "We're going to fight like hell to keep you here, Daniel. All of us will."

"Yes, we will," Hammond confirmed.

Daniel and Jack left the briefing room.

"You wanna come over for some pizza or something?" Jack asked, seeing the worried look on his friend's face.

"Um, thanks, Jack, but I'm not really in the mood for company right now."

Jack stopped the younger man and placed his hands on Daniel's shoulders. "Daniel, you listen to me. We are _not_ going to let them fire you. You got that?"

"I know you'll try, Jack, but I need to accept the possibility that I will be removed from the program." He looked into his friend's eyes. "That's . . . that's why I need you to promise me that, no matter what, you'll keep looking for Sha're. I need to know that, even if I'm no longer out there, someone will still be trying to find her."

Jack searched the young man's eyes, seeing the desperate need there. "I promise, Daniel. No matter what, we'll keep trying to find Sha're."

Daniel relaxed marginally. "Thanks, Jack." He sighed. "If it's okay, I'm going to go home. I'm kind of tired."

"Okay." Jack gave his shoulders a squeeze. "Everything's going to be all right, Daniel. Count on it."

* * *

As Hammond had promised, he placed a call to the president and told him everything, including the things Maybourne had done and said that added credence to Hammond's suspicions about how the NID man had intended to get the information out of the Tollans. As Hammond had hoped, the president was disturbed by this and voiced his regret over having given Maybourne permission to take the Tollans, realizing that he'd made a mistake. He was especially upset about how Maybourne had ordered the men in the gate room to open fire on an unarmed Daniel and Lya. The president assured Hammond that he would not allow Daniel to be imprisoned.

It was that afternoon when the battle for Daniel's fate began. Apparently realizing that he was not going to be able to get Daniel arrested, Maybourne turned his attention to getting the archeologist thrown out of the Stargate Program. Hammond spent countless hours on the phone over the next few days, fighting to keep that from happening. Unfortunately, even the president was having a lot of pressure put on him by certain factions who wanted Daniel out. Things were not looking good.

As the battle was being waged, Daniel was grounded from going on missions. He spent his time working in his office, trying not to think about the very real possibility that he may soon lose a very important part of his life.

The ringing of the phone startled Daniel from his thoughts.

"Doctor Jackson? It's General Hammond. Could you please come to my office?"

Daniel felt his chest begin to tighten. "Yes, sir. I'll be right there."

Daniel made his way to Hammond's office, knowing in his heart that this was not good news. When he arrived at his destination, he saw that Jack was there, too.

The two men went into the general's office, shut the door behind them and took seats. Hammond's eyes met Daniel's, his expression very somber.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news, Doctor Jackson."

"I've been fired, haven't I," Daniel murmured.

"No, not officially. You have been put on suspension for an indefinite period of time."

"Suspension?" Daniel asked, wondering how a civilian consultant for the military could be put on suspension.

"Pardon me, sir, but what the hell does that mean?" Jack asked in an angry voice.

"It means that, for the present time, Doctor Jackson will not be working at this facility or for the government in any capacity. He will receive no pay or benefits."

"That sounds like fired to me."

"Doctor Jackson will still be listed as a consultant, only as an inactive one." Hammond turned to Daniel, whose head was bowed. "I'm sorry, Son, but that's the best I could manage for now. I intend to keep fighting. I haven't given up yet."

Daniel lifted his gaze to the general's. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate all you've done for me." He swallowed tightly. "I, um . . . guess I'd better start packing, huh." Daniel quickly rose to his feet. He met Jack's eyes for a brief moment, then left, shutting the door behind him.

Feeling numb, Daniel made his way to his office and slowly sank into the chair behind his desk. He hadn't realized that this would hurt so much. And it was not just the fact that he'd no longer be out there searching for Sha're, though the thought of that tore him apart inside. The only thing that helped in that regard was his faith in his teammates – _ex_-teammates – that they'd keep looking for her. They wouldn't let him or Sha're down.

What hurt almost as much was the knowledge that he was no longer going to be part of the most amazing adventure that any archeologist, linguist or anthropologist could ever imagine. There would be no more worlds to explore, no more searching ancient ruins of civilizations that had disappeared off the face of the Earth thousands of years ago or had never existed on Earth at all, no more feeling that first thrill when he stepped out of the wormhole onto a world that no human from Earth had ever seen.

But there was something else as well. Once again, he was losing his family. In these months that he'd been with the program, SG-1 had become his family, his friends. He was going to miss them a lot. Oh, they'd probably come visit him sometimes, ask him to join them for an evening now and then, but Daniel knew that those times would be few and far in between. Their lives would be too wrapped up in the program for them to spend much time with an ex-teammate.

No, his life with SG-1 and the Stargate Program was over, and it was time to accept it, move on, and try to rebuild the shattered remains of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Lost in thought as he sat forlornly at his desk, the sound of Daniel's name being softly spoken made him start violently. He looked up to see Sam a few feet away.

"Daniel, what's wrong?" she asked anxiously as soon as she got a good look at his face.

Daniel turned away, blinking rapidly to clear the tears from his eyes. "I, um, just got sacked."

"What? No! Oh, Daniel, please tell me that's not true."

"I wish I could. According to General Hammond, I haven't been officially fired yet. They're calling it a suspension. Basically, it amounts to the same thing. I'm out of the program."

"I can't believe they're actually doing this! How can they? You're too important to the program. We need you!"

Daniel shook his head wearily. "They don't share your opinion, Sam. I crossed them, and this is my punishment." Daniel gave a choked laugh. "Hey, it could be worse. I could be in jail."

Sam abruptly knelt on the floor beside Daniel's chair and pulled him into a fierce hug. He hugged her back, feeling the tears burning in his eyes. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut to keep them from falling.

"Don't you give up, Daniel," Sam said in an unsteady voice. "We'll figure something out. I have some friends at the Pentagon, and I know that the colonel's probably got some favors he can call in. We'll get you back in the program." She pulled back and gazed deeply into Daniel's eyes, her own eyes overly bright and showing the pain she was feeling. "We're not going to lose you."

Daniel gave her a weak smile. "Thanks, Sam."

The captain got to her feet, wiping the wetness from her eyes. "When are you leaving?"

"Today, I guess. I'll be packing up my stuff. A lot of the things here belong to me." He looked around the office, thinking about how much he was going to miss it. "I . . . I guess I should get busy with that."

"You want some help?" Sam asked, her voice shaking even more.

Daniel shook his head. "I think I'd rather do it myself, take my time. It's, um, not like I'm in any hurry to leave."

Sam nodded, swallowing tightly. "I'll come see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

After Sam left, Daniel made no move to start packing. Instead, he just kept sitting in his chair, staring at nothing. He wasn't sure how long he'd been like that when Jack came in.

"Daniel, this is not over," the colonel declared. "Like General Hammond said, we're not giving up. I've got people I can talk to, and Hammond's still working his angles."

Daniel met his friend's eyes. "Come on, Jack. Even the president gave into the wishes of these people. How can you think that _you'll_ be able to change it?"

"Because I'm going to work like hell to make them see that they are making a huge mistake! We need your skills out there, Daniel. It's because of you that we even _have_ the SGC! If those jackasses can't see how much we need you here, then I'm going to do all I can to educate them."

Daniel felt a small glow warm his heart at Jack's words. It made him feel good to know that the man valued his knowledge and skills. There had been times when he'd felt that his contribution to the team wasn't all that important.

The good feeling died quickly, however, the knowledge that he'd just gained making it even worse that he was going to lose all of this.

Daniel got up and went to the shelves containing his books. He ran his fingers across the spines. "You know what's funny? All this time, I knew that, when I found Sha're, I'd leave here and return to Abydos with her. There was never any question of that. I was with this program for the purpose of finding her. But, now that I've lost it, it's more than just the thought that I can't look for Sha're anymore that makes it hurt. I . . . kind of got hooked on the whole thing, you know?"

"I know. It's something else, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

There was a long, uncomfortable moment of silence.

"So, until we get you back here, what are you going to do?" Jack finally asked.

"I have no idea. My chances of getting a job within the archeological community are next to nil. I have doubts that I'd even be able to find a teaching position, not with my reputation." He smiled sadly. "I guess it's a good thing I saved up some money. I'll probably have to live off of that for a while."

"I promise you, Daniel. We'll get you back here long before you go through your savings."

Daniel nodded, not looking at his friend. "Well, I guess I should get busy packing."

"Why don't you hold off on that until tomorrow? It's almost 1800 hours. You'd never get it all done today without working well into the night."

"Will I still be able to get onto the base tomorrow? I figured the general would have to ask for my security pass."

The thought of them taking Daniel's security pass away and locking him out of the mountain made Jack's chest tighten painfully. Dammit! They couldn't let this happen!

"Don't worry about that, Daniel," he said roughly. "You'll still be allowed on the base tomorrow. I'll make sure of that."

The archeologist nodded silently. "I guess I'll finish the project I was working on, then. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, and it'll make it easier on whomever takes over for me."

"Okay. Come and see me before you head home, all right?"

"All right."

Jack paused, not really wanting to leave. But he knew that Daniel needed to be alone right now. "I'll see you later," he murmured, then left.

Alone again, Daniel returned to his chair and tried very hard to get back to work. He hadn't been at it for very long when the third member of his team came in.

"Hey, Teal'c."

"Daniel Jackson, I have learned that you are being forced to leave the SGC."

"Yeah, I'm afraid so."

"It is not right that they would do this. You acted honorably when you aided the Tollans to escape. The leaders of your government do not recognize this?"

Daniel sighed quietly. "I'm sure that some of them do. The problem is that there are others who are very angry that I screwed up their plans to get the Tollans' technology. They're the ones who are responsible for me being removed from the program. They and others feel that I betrayed Earth with my actions."

"But this is not so. You have fought bravely in the service of the Tau'ri. You have contributed much in our battle against the Goa'uld. You would never betray your people."

"Unfortunately, they don't look at things the same way, Teal'c. All they see is that I chose to help a group of aliens instead of letting our government get hold of technology that we could have used to fight the Goa'uld. That is a betrayal in their eyes."

"But that technology was not being offered willingly. They would have had to force the Tollans to part with it."

"Yes."

"The Goa'uld steal technology from others, often by force."

Daniel looked at him. "Exactly. That's why I couldn't let the NID do the same thing. It would make us no better than the Goa'uld."

Teal'c thought about that. "O'Neill says that he will continue fighting to have your place in the SGC restored."

"He's going to try, but I'm not really holding out much hope. I need to accept that it's over."

Teal'c fell silent, upset by the impending loss of this man he had come to think of as a friend.

"What will you do now?" he asked at last.

"I haven't quite figured that out yet. I guess I'll think of something."

Teal'c looked intently into Daniel's eyes. "If there is any way that I may help, anything that I may do for you, you need only ask, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel gave him a sad, yet grateful smile. "Thank you, Teal'c. That means a lot to me."

The Jaffa inclined his head, then turned and left.

This time, Daniel didn't even try to get back to work. He knew it was useless. Instead, he got up and began wandering around, his eyes soaking in the sights around him, hands touching artifacts gathered on various worlds. He wondered if they'd let him keep them. None of them could be considered a threat to the secrecy of the program. They had no meaning for anyone but him, small pieces of a life that he'd now lost. Daniel closed his eyes. Maybe it would be best to leave them after all. They would only serve to remind him of what he no longer had.

Daniel came to one object in particular. It was a tiny statue, a gift from Sha're. It had been in a pocket of his robes when he returned to Earth after Sha're's abduction.

Staring at the statue, Daniel suddenly knew what he had to do. He went to Jack's office, but found it empty. On a hunch, he went to Sam's lab. Sure enough, Jack was there, along with Teal'c. He could hear them talking angrily about what had happened.

"Daniel?" Sam said in surprise when the archeologist came in. None of them had expected him to seek them out. During these months that they'd known him, they had come to realize that Daniel tended to prefer solitude when he was really upset.

"Hi. I, um. . . ." Daniel looked straight at Jack. "I want to go to the Land of Light."

"What?" Jack exclaimed. "Why?"

"Because, from there, I can go to Abydos when they unbury the Stargate. If I don't leave Earth now, while I still have access to the Stargate, I'll never be able to leave. I'll never be able to go home to Abydos. Jack, without my job at the SGC, there's nothing for me here on Earth. Like I told you before, my hopes of finding employment in my fields of expertise aren't all that great. On Abydos, that wouldn't be a problem. The Abydonians value my knowledge and training. I was a teacher there, and I can be again. It . . . it won't be the same without Sha're, but at least I'll be of some use. My life will have some purpose."

Jack gazed at his friend, seeing how much Daniel needed him to say yes. He sighed. "Okay, Daniel. I'll talk to the general and arrange things."

"Thank you. Is it all right if I come with you?"

"Yeah, let's go."

General Hammond was surprised by the request, but only a little. He knew that, other than the Stargate Program, Daniel had nothing binding him to Earth. It made sense that the young man would want to return to the place he'd called home for over a year.

"I'm afraid that I'll have to get permission for you to leave, Doctor Jackson. I'll make some phone calls first thing in the morning."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

Daniel and Jack went to the archeologist's office.

"You going home now or are you still working?" the colonel asked.

Daniel let out a little laugh, which held no humor. "I'm afraid that I haven't really been working much. I've kind of got a lot on my mind."

Jack lapsed into a short silence. "Uh . . . how about coming over to my place for the evening? We could talk . . . or not. Whatever you'd like to do. Sam and Teal'c could come over, too, have a te—" Jack's voice broke off sharply before finishing the sentence. This would not be a team get-together. Daniel was no longer a member of SG-1.

Daniel looked into Jack's eyes, seeing the silent plea there. All he really wanted to do was go home and be alone, but he knew that his friends needed this time with him, especially if he was going to be leaving Earth.

"Okay. That sounds good," he said gently.

A brief smile flashed across Jack's face. "Good. I'll go get Carter and Teal'c. Meet you at my place?"

"Yeah. You want me to bring anything?"

"Nope, just yourself. I'll order some pizza to be delivered. There's plenty of beer in the fridge."

As Daniel headed toward the elevator, he noticed several people looking at him. Apparently, the news was already spreading. Most of the looks he got were sympathetic, though others were ambivalent, particularly those from the Marines. Daniel knew that a lot of them still believed that civilians had no business being on SG teams, especially on the premiere team.

Daniel approached the first checkout station.

"Hey, Doctor J," greeted Lieutenant Grey, who was on duty there. "I heard about what happened. I think it's a damn shame what they're doin' to you. It just ain't right, not right at all. We're gonna miss you around here. I know some of my fellow Marines don't think you belong on an SG team, but not me. I heard all about that first mission, how you helped whup Ra's ass. That makes you okay in my books."

Daniel smiled in gratitude. "Thanks, Tim."

The Marine looked at Daniel's security badge. "I ain't got no orders to take that, so I'm lettin' you keep it."

"Yeah, I'll be coming back tomorrow to pack up my office and to make some other arrangements."

Lieutenant Grey nodded. "I'll be on duty here again tomorrow, same time. We can say our goodbyes then."

"Okay, Tim. I'll see you then."

Daniel managed to get through the remaining checkpoints without any more conversations, which was good because talking about the whole thing was not easy for him.

As Daniel had suspected, the evening with his former teammates was also not easy for him. Every time he looked at Jack, Sam or Teal'c, he thought about the fact that it might be one of the last times he'd see them. If his request to go to the Land of Light was approved, chances were that he would never set foot on Earth again. Would his friends ever be able to visit him? Maybe someday. He hoped they would.

The evening was spent mostly in bittersweet reminiscence, recalling missions and things that happened at the SGC. It was after midnight before Sam and Teal'c finally, reluctantly, left. Sam gave Daniel a long hug before heading out the door. He stepped outside and watched them leave, remaining there long after the car had disappeared from view.

"It's pretty late," Jack said behind him. "My spare room's still available."

"No, I. . . ." Daniel's voice caught. "I really need to go home." _'I need to be alone so you won't see me totally lose it.' _

Jack let out a sad sigh. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah." Daniel heard Jack walk back toward the house. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

Daniel turned to face him. "Thank you. Thank you for everything."

Jack nodded shortly. He then spun around and strode quickly into the house, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"I am very sorry, Doctor Jackson," General Hammond said regretfully, having just given the young man yet another piece of bad news.

"But I don't understand. Why won't they let me leave?" Daniel cried.

"It's a matter of your safety, Son, and the security of Earth. You would be totally unprotected out there. There is some concern that, if you were captured by the Goa'uld, they could gain information from you that could jeopardize Earth."

"Oh, please. Every time I go on a mission there's the chance that I could get captured by the Goa'uld, yet no one's ever said anything about it. My knowledge of the Stargate Program is no more sensitive than what any other SG team member knows."

"Yes, you're right. You have no greater knowledge of the Stargate Program than many of the other people who go through the gate. However, you do have other knowledge and unique abilities that could pose a serious risk to Earth if the Goa'uld were to gain control of them."

Daniel stared at the general unbelievingly. Then it suddenly hit him. "That's it, isn't it. That's the real reason why they won't let me go. They want to keep me here, within easy reach, just in case they ever need me for something, like maybe to translate the instructions for some weapon they get their hands on." Daniel let out a sharp bark of laughter. "I don't believe this! They want me gone, out of the program, but they want me to be at their beck and call whenever they need me?"

The general's silence told Daniel that his guess was right.

"Well, you can tell them to forget it. They can plead, demand and threaten all they want, but I am _never_ going to do anything for them. They wanted me out of the program, well then I'm out of the program, totally, utterly, completely. If they want me to do translations, then they can give me back my job. It's all or nothing."

General Hammond gave him a nod. "I'll pass on your message, Doctor Jackson."

Daniel rose to his feet and strode out of the office. He went straight to Sam's lab, not noticing how everyone in his path hurriedly got out of his way once they saw the set of his shoulders and the thunderous look on his face.

Daniel stormed into the lab, seeing that Jack was there.

"They won't let me go!" he yelled.

"What do you mean they won't let you go?" Jack asked. Daniel was steamed, really, _really_ steamed. When Daniel was angry, he tended to get hyper, but he was way beyond that stage this time. He was at the vibrating-like-a-Magic-Fingers-bed stage. Pure fury was pouring off him in almost visible waves. His eyes were blazing like twin blue giant suns. It was a frightening thing to see. Damn! Even a Goa'uld might think twice about tangling with Daniel right now. Those eyes could probably kill at twenty paces.

"They want to keep me on a leash, keep me around and available just in case they ever need me for something," Daniel snarled. Wow. Daniel can actually snarl.

"For what?" Sam asked.

"Oh, like maybe translating the instruction book for some nifty weapon or other piece of technology they get their hands on. In other words, they want me out of the SGC, but they don't want to completely lose a 'valuable resource'. I also wouldn't be surprised if this was another part of their revenge against me."

"Crap. Why doesn't this surprise me?" Jack said.

"So, what are you going to do?" Sam asked.

"Well, it'll be a cold day in hell before I do anything for them, and that's what General Hammond is going to tell them."

"So, you're stuck here," Jack muttered. For his own selfish reasons, he was happy since it meant that he'd still be able to see Daniel from time to time. The thought of his friend leaving Earth forever had really hurt. But Jack knew how much this was hurting Daniel. Because of that, he wished that there was something he could do to get Daniel through the Stargate.

Daniel turned and strode away a few feet, his arms wrapped tightly about himself in that self-hug that he did whenever he was feeling upset or insecure. But then, all at once, his back straightened and his arms dropped. He turned back to face them.

"I need you to meet me on the mountaintop, where the Tollans went," he said in a hushed voice. "Bring Teal'c."

With no explanation as to the reason for his request, he quickly left. Jack and Sam looked at each other in confusion, wondering what was going on.

A while later, they arrived with Teal'c at the clearing where Omoc and Daniel had sent the message to the Nox. The archeologist arrived a couple of minutes later.

"Okay, what's up, Daniel?" Jack asked. "Why did you ask us to come up here?"

"Because I didn't want there to be any chance that someone would see this or overhear us talking," Daniel said. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the Tollan communications device.

Sam gasped. "Daniel, that's. . . ."

"Yeah."

Jack stared at them. "That's what? What is it?"

"It's the device Omoc used to contact the Nox," Daniel explained.

"What? How on Earth did you get it?"

"He gave it to me."

"He what? Mister we-don't-give-technology-to-primitives-like-you actually gave you one of their techie things?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Just in case I needed their help. When Omoc found out that I could be arrested for helping them, he was concerned. He, um, offered to take me with them so that I'd be safe."

Jack's mouth dropped open. "You're joking."

"No."

Jack shook his head in amazement. "Daniel, you are really something else. I can't believe you charmed that guy."

"Jack, I didn't charm anyone," Daniel said in irritation. "Omoc may have been rude and unfriendly, but he has good reason for his attitude toward less technologically advanced races. He isn't an uncaring man. In fact, he cares very much, otherwise, he'd have had no qualms about giving us their technology and letting us blow ourselves up with it."

"So, obviously, you turned down his offer to go with the Tollans," Sam said. "Is that why he gave you that thing?"

Daniel nodded. "He wanted me to use it to call them if things got bad for me and I needed an . . . escape route."

"And are you going to use it now?" Jack asked.

"I have no choice, Jack. If I don't leave today, I may never get off Earth. I'll be a prisoner here. I'm not sure they'll even let me leave if you find and free Sha're."

Jack nodded, knowing that Daniel was right. "Okay, what can we do to help?"

"Just make sure I can get to the gate room when the time comes."

"No problem. We'll get you there."

Daniel looked down at the Tollan device. "So, I guess I'd better place my call, huh."

"You don't want to wait till later?" Jack asked.

"I'm afraid that if I come up here again, someone will get suspicious."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Daniel took hold of the device with both hands, then, clearing his mind of extraneous thoughts, he pressed the blue button and mentally spoke the words he wished to record. Once he was done, he pressed the button again. He placed it on the ground and pushed the green button. Like before, a bright beam of light shot upward into the sky. They all stared heavenward, thinking about what that beam of light meant for all of them.

"What will you do after you get to the Nox world?" Sam asked.

"I guess I'll stay there for a while. It might be nice to spend some time with Lya and her family, maybe get the chance to learn more about their culture and history."

"Hey, maybe they'll let you check out that cool floating city," Jack said.

"Yeah, maybe. I might go to the Land of Light and visit Tuplo's people, too. I never did get to ask them about their culture and its connections to the Minoan civilization. Once the gate on Abydos is unburied, I'll go home." Daniel handed the Tollan device to Sam and told her how to use it. "If something happens and you need to contact me before I get to Abydos, use it. I'll let everyone know that you might be calling for me."

"What about all your things, Daniel? Your apartment and personal belongings?" Sam asked.

"I'm paid up on my rent till the end of next month, so you don't have to worry about that yet. In regards to my belongings, I guess I'm not going to need most of them now, though there are some things that I'd like to have, photos, my journals and a few other items. Maybe you can come visit Abydos and bring some of my things with you. I'll leave the gate open for you for a while, a few weeks."

"Sure, Daniel. We'd love to drop in and say hi," Jack said softly, trying not to show how much he was hurting at the thought that Daniel was leaving them forever.

Daniel gave him a sorrowful smile. "As for the rest of my stuff, you guys can keep whatever you want. You can give the artifacts to a museum." He looked at Teal'c. "I'd like you to have the Hounds and Jackals game, Teal'c."

"Thank you, Daniel Jackson. I will treasure it for as long as I live," Teal'c said, his voice filled with sincerity and sorrow.

Daniel nodded slightly. "As for everything else, just give it to charity." Daniel glanced back up at the sky. "I guess we'd better get back inside. There's no way of knowing how quickly they'll come."

They went back inside. At Daniel's request, Jack went to the locker room and gathered all of the clothing that was in the archeologist's locker, placing it in the small gym bag that Daniel kept there.

Before returning to Daniel's office, he got something else as well. In the office, he handed the item to the archeologist. Daniel took the radio, looking at Jack questioningly.

"That's in case of emergency," the colonel explained. "You won't have a G.D.O., so you'd need to have a way to tell us that it's you so that we'll open the iris."

Daniel nodded and put the radio into the bag.

Jack, Sam and Teal'c watched as their friend gathered a few personal belongings and some books and placed them in the bag, along with several empty journals. He paused as he picked up a little statue.

"This was an anniversary present from Sha're. She gave it to me after I told her that it had been one Earth year since our marriage and that, on Earth, it was customary for people to celebrate the anniversary of their wedding. It was supposed to bring me luck." Daniel touched the statue one last time, then placed it in his pocket. When he turned back to the others, they were all looking at him with sad eyes. Unable to meet their gaze for more than a moment, he looked around the room some more, gathering up a few more things.

At last, Daniel closed the bag. He stared down at it. Not so terribly long ago, he had carried all of his worldly possessions in two suitcases. Now, it was one lone gym bag that would carry the remains of his life here on Earth and the months he'd spent with three of the best friends he could ever have. Such a small thing to carry the remnants of one of the most important and incredible chapters in his life.

Feeling his eyes begin to sting, Daniel quickly placed the bag on the floor and sat at his desk. He wrote out some information on a piece of paper and handed it to Jack.

"That's my bank account information. I've got a few thousand dollars in my savings account. I don't have a lot of expenses, so I've been saving a big chunk of my paycheck every month. If it's okay with Janet, put the money away in a savings account for Cassie's college tuition." He sighed sadly. "I wish I'd had the chance to say goodbye to her. I'm going to miss her."

"She's going to miss you too, Daniel," Sam said, choking up. "She really loves you, you know. You've been so great with her."

"Well, she's a great kid, and she deserves all the love we can give her. Give her a big hug and kiss for me, okay?"

Sam nodded, unable to speak.

Just then, the familiar claxons started blaring, the warning of an unscheduled off-world activation coming over the speaker.

"That's probably my ride," Daniel said quietly, wishing it hadn't come so soon.

Picking up his bag, he headed quicky to the control room with the others. He laid the bag just out of sight and walked up to the observation window, feeling the presence of his friends at his back.

Daniel tensed as the wormhole opened.

"Are we getting a signal?" Hammond asked Sergeant Davis.

"No, sir, we're. . . . Sir! The iris is failing!"

"What!" Hammond watched the iris open. "Get it closed, Sergeant!"

"I can't, sir! It's not responding!"

"It's okay, General," Daniel said quietly. "There's nothing to worry about."

Hammond looked at him sharply. "What do you mean, Doctor Jackson? Do you know what this is all about?"

"Yes, sir, I do."

At that moment, a familiar figure stepped out of the wormhole. Seeing who it was, the general told the men in the gate room to stand down. He then turned back to Daniel. "Would you care to explain this?"

"I can't stay on Earth, General," Daniel told him quietly. "I can't let them keep me a prisoner. I need to go home, to Abydos, to where my life can still have some meaning. Can you understand that?"

Hammond looked at him kindly. "Yes, I can." He laid a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "We're going to miss you, Son. Things are never going to be the same here without you. I can only pray that losing you will not result in a disaster we could have prevented if you were still with us." He clasped Daniel's hand in his. "It has been an honor to have you under my command, Doctor Jackson."

Blinking back sudden tears, Daniel said, "It's been an honor to be under your command, sir."

Everyone in the control room came forward and shook Daniel's hand or gave him a hug. By the time the archeologist made it down to the gate room, he was holding onto his control by the skin of his teeth.

"Hello, Lya," he greeted the Nox woman.

"Hello, Daniel. The Nox welcome you."

Giving her a nod, Daniel turned to his former teammates. Sam was crying, tears falling unashamedly down her face. Teal'c was looking more fierce than ever, and Jack . . . Jack wasn't even bothering to hide the pain on his face.

Daniel stepped up to Teal'c first.

"It grieves me deeply that you must depart, Daniel Jackson," the Jaffa said in a low voice.

"It grieves me, too, Teal'c. I wish I didn't have to go. Teal'c, I know that you still feel as if you need to make amends to me for your part in Sha're becoming a host, but what I said at the Cor-ai was true. I know that you had no choice. The only ones to blame for what happened to Sha're are Apophis and Amaunet. You never had and you never will have any need to make amends for it."

Teal'c looked into his eyes for a long moment. "You are a great and noble man, Daniel Jackson, and I am proud to call you my friend." He clasped Daniel's arm tightly, then bowed his head, his jaw twitching and clenching with emotion.

"No more proud than I am to call you my friend, Teal'c," Daniel said, his voice rough with emotions. He turned to Sam, who immediately stepped forward and wrapped him in a tight embrace.

"I am going to miss you so much," she whispered brokenly.

"I know, Sam," Daniel choked out. "I'm going to miss you, too. You've been one of the best friends I've ever had. You are a very special person. I'll think of you always."

"Me too."

Giving Sam one last squeeze, Daniel drew away from her. He knew that there were tears on his face, but he just didn't care anymore. What did it matter if they saw him cry?

At last, Daniel turned to Jack.

"I'm not going to say goodbye, Daniel," Jack declared, "because, one way or another, I am going to get you back on SG-1, even if I have to picket the White House to do it."

Daniel's lips curved upward slightly. "You know, Jack, I can almost picture you doing that."

"You betcha! So, you go spend some time with the Nox and maybe the Tollans and Tuplo, then visit with Kasuf for a little while, but you keep that gate open like you promised, because I'm going to be coming to bring you home. You got that?"

"Yeah. I got it, Jack."

Jack abruptly pulled Daniel into a bone-crushing hug. Daniel returned it with equal fervor. After far too short a time, the two men pulled apart. Jack briefly laid a hand on Daniel's cheek, his eyes speaking the words he could not say. Then he stepped back and, to Daniel's utter surprise, snapped off a salute. Sam did likewise. Daniel looked around and saw everyone else in the gate room and control room lift their hands in a salute, including General Hammond. Fighting to keep the sobs at bay, Daniel straightened his back, squared his shoulders, and slowly returned the gesture, feeling like his heart was going to break. He then turned and walked up the ramp, took Lya's outstretched hand, and stepped for what could be the last time through Earth's Stargate.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Jack marched down the corridor, his bearing reminiscent of a rogue bear on the rampage. Everyone who caught sight of him made a hasty retreat, knowing that to even say hi to the man could result in a verbal decapitation. It had been this way for two days, ever since Daniel Jackson left through the Stargate. Only the bravest – or most foolhardy – had dared to approach him during this time. Even General Hammond was keeping his distance. In fact, the only people who kept company with SG-1's commander were his teammates, which wasn't surprising since their moods were equally as bad. Sam snapped at everyone, keeping herself cloistered away in her lab all day, hunched over this or that gadget and having no patience for interruptions. That is except for when her mood would do an about-face and she'd get depressed and silent. During those times, she would usually retreat to Daniel's office and think about how much she missed him.

And then there was Teal'c. There was no longer any doubt in the minds of anyone on base as to why the Jaffa had been chosen to be the First Prime of Apophis. Quite a few people were now in mortal fear of him. His anger was like a living thing, coiled like a deadly serpent, waiting to strike at the unwary. He merely had to look at someone to make them want to flee for their lives. Even the toughest of the Marines on base were nervous.

General Hammond caught sight of the rampaging colonel and sighed. He continued to his office and sat heavily in his chair. He rubbed at his forehead, trying to ease the headache he'd had all day. A knock on his door drew his attention away from the dull throb. Doctor Fraiser entered.

"Sir, I'd like to talk to you, if I may," she said.

The general motioned for her to take a seat. "Let me guess. It's about SG-1."

"Yes, sir. I just don't know what to do. They are so full of anger over what happened to Daniel. It's getting out of hand. I suggested that they talk to Doctor McKenzie and try to work through their anger and resentment."

"From the expression on your face, I'm guessing that suggestion did not go over well."

"No, sir." Janet sighed. "The truth is, General, that they are perfectly justified in being angry. The NID had no right to keep the Tollans here against their will. They were not our enemies. Doctor Jackson did the right thing by helping to free them."

"I know, Doctor, and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone. The president agrees. In fact, a lot of the people I've talked to admitted that we did not have the right to keep the Tollans here against their will. They claim that's not the reason why they wanted Doctor Jackson out of the SGC."

"Then what are they saying _is_ the reason?"

"That this incident puts into question Doctor Jackson's loyalties to Earth. He freed the Tollans even though Maybourne had orders to take them into custody. These people believe that if Doctor Jackson could blatantly defy orders in a situation like this, he would do so again whenever he felt that what we were doing was wrong, regardless of the cost to Earth."

"Sir, you don't think that, do you?"

"Absolutely not. I have no doubt in my mind that Doctor Jackson would never do anything that could endanger Earth. That boy has more integrity than most of the people I've met in my life. Hell, it's that integrity that made him do what he did."

"Do you think there's any chance at all that you might be able to change the minds of these people?"

"Some, yes. In time, if I keep pushing, I could probably get more than half of them to change their minds. However, they're not the ones who are the real problem. There are some very powerful people in high places who believe that we had the right to make the Tollans give us their technology since it was for the welfare of Earth. These individuals are extremely angry at Doctor Jackson for robbing them of their 'prize'. No amount of talking is going to make those people change their minds."

"I understand that you weren't especially popular when certain people found out that you let Daniel leave."

Hammond nodded in affirmation. "There were a few irate voices. Doctor Jackson was right about them. They wanted him removed from the program, but they didn't want to lose access to his special skills in case they ever had a need for them. Perhaps if we start losing out on some important acquisitions or fail to make some valuable allies because Doctor Jackson wasn't with us to translate or to act as a liaison, they'll realize that they made a mistake."

"Until then, there's nothing we can do?"

"I'm still trying to get enough support for Daniel to outweigh these other individuals, but it's taking time."

"And, in the meantime, the rest of SG-1 are too enraged and distracted to go on any missions."

Hammond nodded. "I believe it's time that I order them to take some time off, get off the base. Perhaps a few days away will cool them down."

"Do you really think that will help, sir?"

"No, not really, but I can always hope."

* * *

Daniel sat quietly, staring up at the canopy of leaves overhead. He could hear footsteps approaching, but did not turn around. He knew who it was.

Lya gracefully sat upon the log beside him. "You have been with the Nox for three days, yet, still, you are alone," she said gently. "We worry that you are not eating or sleeping well."

"I'm okay, Lya," Daniel assured her. "Back on Earth, I often used to go a couple of days without much sleep, and I never was a big eater. I sure would love a cup of coffee, though."

"Coffee?"

"A beverage that has a stimulating effect on the mind and body. Many people drink it to remain alert, stay awake."

"Why would you wish to stay awake if you are tired? When you are tired, you should rest."

Daniel smiled at her. "It's a little tough to explain." Daniel's smile faded, and he turned back to the trees. After a moment, he felt Lya's hand rest upon his.

"Your heart is in great pain," she murmured. "We have all sensed this, but we have said nothing, respecting your wish for solitude. But it is not good to be alone when your spirit cries out for comfort."

Daniel's head bowed. He stared at the ground between his feet. "I've been alone most of my life, Lya. My parents died when I was a young child, and I had no relatives who could take care of me. I spent the rest of my childhood in the homes of strangers that I was never with long enough to call my family. When I grew up, I was still alone. Very few understood me, so I had few real friends."

"The ones who came with you here before. Were they not your friends?"

"Yes. Yes, they were. They are some of the only true friends I've ever had. And, now, I've lost them."

"Just because you are no longer with them does not make them lost. They remain your friends."

Daniel smiled very faintly. "Yes, you're right, Lya. They are still my friends. They always will be. But they're gone from my life now. It will be many months before I see them again, and, even when I do, it will be for only a short time."

"You miss them."

"Yes, I do, very much. It's only been three days, but it feels like three months, probably because I know that I can never go back, that I've lost my whole life yet again." He smiled sadly. "Oh, well. It's not like I haven't started all over before. I've gotten used to it."

"Can the heart ever get used to losing that which it loves?" Lya asked.

"No, not really. No matter how many times I've lost people and things I love, it never gets easier. Sometimes I think that the more often you lose, the harder it gets to recover, like it keeps building up inside you higher and higher until you can't see past it. But, on the other hand, I've felt the pain so many times that it's become familiar to me. I know it so well. I'm accustomed to feeling it."

"Pain is not something with which we should ever become so familiar."

"No."

"If you could have your life back, would you take it?"

Daniel looked at the Nox woman. "Yes, of course I would."

She looked at him closely. "Even if you would have to undo what you did that caused things to be this way?"

Daniel stared at her. "If you're asking if I would go back in time and change what I did to help the Tollans, then the answer is no. I would never change that. I do not regret helping them. I only regret what I lost because of it. Even if I had known at the time that this would be the result, I would still have done it."

Lya gave him a warm smile. "We have watched you these days, Daniel. I believe that we did not see you truly before. You are not quite so young as we had believed."

Daniel looked at her in surprise. "I think Omoc basically said the same thing to me."

Lya nodded. "He told us that you were to be considered an honored guest of the Tollans."

"He did?"

"Yes. But you choose not to stay with them. Why?"

"I may visit them, but my life cannot be with the Tollans, just as it cannot be with the Nox, though I would like to remain here a while and get to know your people. I've had two homes in my life, Earth and Abydos. I gave up Earth when I chose to remain on Abydos. I lost Abydos when my wife was taken and I had to return to Earth. Now, I've lost Earth again, and all that's left for me is to return to Abydos, though it can never truly be my home without my wife there. I have no real home now."

Lya gave him an understanding smile. "If your heart is where you cannot be, then your soul can have no place it calls home."

"My heart is with my wife and with my friends, and I can't be with either one. So, yes, you're right. No place I go can really be home for me."

Lya touched his cheek. "You are most welcome to stay with the Nox for as long as you desire. Perhaps it can never be your home, but you have friends here, and you need not be alone." She rose to her feet and walked away.

Daniel remained where he was for several minutes longer, then got up and headed in the direction Lya had gone, deciding that he didn't want to be alone anymore.

* * *

Jack, Sam and Teal'c were all in the colonel's living room, the remains of dinner sitting on the coffee table, barely touched. None of them had much of an appetite. There was something missing, an empty space that should have been filled by Daniel.

They had all been ordered off the base with strict instructions not to return until Monday. Doctor Fraiser had included the warning that if they didn't return in a better mood, she'd force feed them all sedatives.

"I'm thinking that now would be a good time to take some leave," Jack muttered. "Just say to hell with everything and go disappear in Minnesota for a week."

"Yeah, I have some friends that I've been meaning to go see," Sam said. "Maybe now would be a good time."

"I, too, have no great desire to resume my duties at this time," the Jaffa rumbled.

They all lapsed into silence.

"You know, I have half a mind to resign," Sam said suddenly. "I'm really not sure I want to work for an organization that would persecute someone for doing what was morally right." A moment later, she leapt to her feet and began pacing back and forth. "God, I feel so guilty! It may have been Daniel's idea, but we all played a part in helping the Tollans escape."

"I know, Carter. Believe me, I know," Jack told her. "And if I thought there was any way that it would get Daniel back in the program, I'd confess to my part in the escape." He let out a curse. "I should have snapped Maybourne's scrawny little neck when I had the chance. He's the one responsible for this."

"If you give me leave, O'Neill, I will quite willingly break Colonel Maybourne's scrawny little neck in your stead," Teal'c stated with complete sincerity.

"Thanks, Teal'c, but we'll hold that in reserve for now. Perhaps after we get Daniel back, I'll let you go a few rounds with Maybourne. Right now, we need to figure out how we're going to fix this. Come Monday, Hammond's going to see about assigning a replacement for Daniel."

"How can anyone replace Daniel?" Sam said, not really phrasing it as a question since she already knew the answer.

"No one can, which is why I'm not going to accept anything less than getting Daniel back on the team." A thought occurred to him. "You know, I'm thinking that maybe this _is_ a good time to take some leave, maybe take a little trip to D.C., camp out on a few doorsteps."

Sam looked at him thoughtfully. "I did mention to Daniel that I have a few friends at the Pentagon."

Jack nodded sharply. "Okay, let's do it. I'll call Hammond first thing in the morning and ask for some additional leave."

Minds made up, the three members of SG-1 sat back and began making their plans.

* * *

Jack slammed the door shut and made his way to the kitchen. He pulled a beer out of the fridge and shut the door with enough force that he heard several things in the refrigerator fall over. Not caring what kind of mess he might have to clean up later, Jack popped the cap off the beer bottle and took it to the living room. He sat on the couch and rested his head in his hands. He felt . . . old, old and defeated. For the past five days, he and Carter had talked to dozens of people in D.C., trying to get them to do something about getting Daniel's job back. The responses had ranged from sympathy, to disinterest, to outright hostility. A few had said that they would try to help but explained that they didn't know how much they could do. As for those who'd shown hostility or had dared to say anything bad about Daniel, a certain Jaffa has done a good job of scaring the pants off of them without laying a finger on them.

They'd been in D.C. for two days when Sam got the idea of calling Catherine Langford and telling her what happened. The elderly woman had been outraged and swore to use her own connections to put pressure on the right people.

Unfortunately, none of their efforts had paid off. Daniel was still out of the program. There was a little more hope, but they didn't know how long it would be before Daniel would be given his job back.

But then, it really didn't matter if it took several months for it to happen. As long as Daniel was on the Nox world, they'd be unable to contact him, unless they used that Tollan thing. Daniel had said that he'd be staying on the Nox world until he could return to Abydos – with the exception of a little side trip to the Land of Light – and, by Abydonian time, it would be quite a few months before the one-year anniversary of Sha're's abduction. Until that day, the Abydos gate would remain buried.

Jack gave a deep sigh and wearily rubbed his face. Tomorrow, he'd be forced to meet with General Hammond and begin deciding who was going to take Daniel's place as the fourth member of SG-1. Just the very thought of it turned his stomach.

"Damn you, Maybourne. I am not going to let you win. No matter how long it takes, I'm going to get Daniel back here where he belongs."

* * *

Daniel sat in the dirt beside Nafrayu, teaching the young boy hieroglyphics. With a stick he scratched a symbol in the dirt.

"Okay, try this one," he said. "It's a bit harder."

Studying the picture closely, Nafrayu copied it as well as he could. Daniel smiled at him and patted his back.

"That's very good, Nafrayu. I'd say you're a natural."

"What does this one mean? It looks like a bird."

"Yes, it's a vulture, which is a carrion bird on Earth. This symbol is part of the hieroglyphic alphabet. It's pronounced 'ah'." Daniel smoothed out the dirt and drew a line of several symbols.

"What is that?" Nafrayu asked.

"That's your name."

The boy smiled in delight. "It is? Can I try?"

"Of course."

Slowly and carefully, Nafrayu duplicated the row of symbols.

"Wow. Very good," Daniel praised. "You've definitely got a talent for this."

Nafrayu beamed at him. "Show me your name."

Daniel did as asked, and Nafrayu copied it.

"When did you learn to do this?" the Nox boy asked.

"Oh, I started learning this when I was a few years younger than you. My parents were archeologists. Those are people who study human history and prehistory by excavating – that means digging up – places where people used to live long ago and study what they find. My mother was also a linguist, someone who studies languages. As a young child, I spent most of my life in Egypt, which is the land where this writing was created." A smile of remembrance curved Daniel's face. "It was a great life."

Anteaus, Nafrayu's father, stepped into view. "The midday meal has been prepared. Come eat."

Nafrayu scrambled to his feet and dashed off toward the hut. Daniel got up more slowly and dusted off his pants. Anteaus looked at the writing in the dirt and smiled.

"You are a fine teacher, Daniel. I have watched you with Nafrayu, and he speaks eagerly about his lessons. He looks forward to them each day."

"Thank you. I'm happy to be teaching him. He's a smart kid, a quick learner." Daniel's smile faded. "I'm going to miss him."

Anteaus looked at him closely. "You will be leaving?"

"In a few days. I had planned on staying longer, but I know, now, that I can't."

"Why is this?"

"Because I need to . . . to lose myself, to push all the memories away until it doesn't hurt as much. The only way I can do that is with work, to immerse myself in it, and that's something I can't do here."

"Where will you go?"

"There are worlds my people have been to that have great ruins where I could spend a lifetime and still not see it all. There are a couple of peaceful civilizations where I can get tools and other things that I will need. Then I'm going to go disappear into one of those ruins and just be an archeologist until the day that I can go home to Abydos."

"But you will be alone."

"Yes. But, as I told Lya, that's something I'm used to. I'll be all right."

"It will sadden us to see you go. We have enjoyed your company."

"Thank you, Anteaus. I've enjoyed my time with you."

"Come, then. Let us go eat and enjoy the time we have left with each other."

* * *

Daniel stood before the activated Stargate, facing Anteaus and his family. Today, he would be stepping through the Stargate to embark on his solitary journey, no friends, teammates or anyone else at his side. It was a terrifying thought, to know that, once he arrived at his destination, he would be utterly alone. Many would say that he was crazy for doing this, and perhaps they would be right. But it was something Daniel knew he had to do.

Lya came forward and handed him a large cloth bag. "There is food in there and some things that you can use for trade," she told him.

"Thank you, Lya," Daniel said quietly. He gazed at the Nox woman, knowing that he was going to miss her and her quiet wisdom and compassion.

Lya stroked his cheek with her fingers. "Be well, Daniel. I hope that, someday, you will be able to return to where your heart resides." She then gave him a gentle hug.

As she stepped back, she looked down at Nafrayu. The boy came up to Daniel and revealed what he'd had hidden behind his back. It was a piece of parchment with his name and Daniel's colorfully painted in hieroglyphics. Daniel took the gift with a smile.

"Thank you very much, Nafrayu. This is beautiful, a very fine gift. Now, don't you lose that dictionary of hieroglyphs that I made for you. I expect you to practice every day. If we see each other again, I'll be giving you a test on how well you've learned."

"I promise I will practice, Daniel. When will you come back?" There was sorrow in the boy's voice.

Daniel glanced up at Anteaus. "Um, I don't know, Nafrayu. Since I can't come back here without an invitation, that will be up to your father. I hope it won't be too long." He knelt and pulled the boy into a hug. "You be a good boy for your mother and father. I know that we young ones don't always do as we're told, but try your best, okay?"

Nafrayu nodded. "I will."

Daniel rose to his feet and smiled down at the eldest of the Nox. "Goodbye, Ohper. I've learned a lot from you. Thank you for your knowledge."

"It was a pleasure to give it to you. You have a quick and curious mind and a love for learning. It is a good thing to see."

Daniel gave him a smile, then turned to Anteaus. "I want you to know that I respect your people immensely, Anteaus, and I hope that a day will come when my people can be more like yours and we can be friends and allies."

The Nox man rested a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "I believe, Daniel, that if more of your people come to be like you, the day our two races become allies will not be so very far away. As for this day, we of the Nox know that there is one among your people whom we would call friend and who will always be welcome here."

Feeling his heart swell at the man's words, Daniel smiled and nodded. "Thank you. I hope I'll see you again someday."

Daniel gathered up his belongings and turned toward the gate. Just before stepping through, he looked back one last time at the family that had befriended and sheltered him. For a moment, his determination to leave faltered. But then his heart told him again that this was what he had to do. With a silent sigh, he faced forward and stepped through the gate.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Sam scanned the horizon, looking for signs of movement. Everywhere she looked, the sight that met her eyes made the ache inside her grow. Daniel would love this place. It was an archeologist's dream. The ruins stretched for miles, an ancient city just begging for someone to come dig up its secrets.

Sam looked over at the new fourth member of SG-1. That someone would not be Gary Sanderson. Lieutenant Sanderson, while possessing a master's degree in anthropology and being fluent in eight languages, had no interest in archeology, Egyptology or anything else to do with ancient history, with the exception of anthropological studies. Colonel O'Neill had quite forcefully reminded Sanderson that, since the vast majority of Goa'uld society had connections to ancient Egypt, he'd damn well better get interested in it.

Jack came up beside Sam, his eyes also going to Sanderson, who was attempting to show interest in the ruins, but failing miserably.

"This is never going to work," he grumbled under his breath.

Sam looked at her C.O. "Sir?"

"Look at him. I've seen more excitement on the faces of people at the dentist's office. If Daniel was here, he'd have been in that city in a flash, acting like a little kid in a candy store. I'd be yelling at him to stay close and watch out for falling rocks . . . and he'd be yelling back that they're artifacts, not rocks, even if they _were_ rocks."

Sam smiled, a clear picture forming in her mind of the archeologist's enthusiasm. "You miss that, don't you, sir," she said quietly.

Jack thought about it. "Yeah, I do, which is kind of surprising." He pointed at a spot on his head. "You see that? That's grey hair. All those years in Special Ops and Black Ops and not one grey hair. A few months with Daniel, and, bam! There it is."

Sam hid her widening smile by ducking her head. The smile did not last long, however. "I miss him, too. It's just not the same without him."

"We're going to get him back, Carter. Hammond's gotten some positive news. There are some more people on our side now, and I guess our trip to D.C. did some good, too."

"But we're still going to have to wait for Daniel to get to Abydos. That's a long time from now."

"I've been thinking about that, and I really think we should use that Tollan doohickey to call him once we get his job back for him."

Turning to the other two team members, Jack called out, "Okay, kids. Let's check that place out."

SG-1 cautiously entered the city, their senses alert for trouble. As they looked around, they noticed that several of the walls had some kind of writing on them.

"Sanderson? You recognize that?" Jack asked, pointing at the inscriptions on one wall.

The lieutenant looked at it closely. "No, sir, I don't. It looks kind of familiar, but I can't get a handle on it."

Jack grumbled under his breath that Daniel could probably have translated it in a minute flat. He knew that he was being unfair to Sanderson. The man simply wasn't the natural genius with languages that Daniel was. It wasn't the lieutenant's fault that he could never measure up to Daniel. _No_ one could do that. Daniel Jackson was unique, and Jack was really beginning to realize how very valuable the young man's skills were.

They'd been wandering around the ruins for about ten minutes when the team arrived at a courtyard. In the center of it was a pole with a large black ball on top. The ball was covered in more of the writing and some symbols. Around the pole was a circle of stone benches.

"I really wish that you could read this writing, Sanderson, because I have a feeling that thing is important."

"Not necessarily, sir," the lieutenant replied. "It might just be a sign greeting newcomers or perhaps a kind of street sign directing people how to get someplace."

"What makes you think that?"

"It was just a guess, sir. I don't know that for sure."

Jack rolled his eyes and muttered something else under his breath. _'I really wish you were here right now, Daniel.' _

SG-1 slowly approached the circle of benches, Sanderson in the lead. He stepped over one of the benches and began walking around the pole, looking at it up and down. Jack's eyes were only partly on him, his attention also on their surroundings. As he turned fully toward the lieutenant, he called out, "Sanderson, don't— Sanderson!"

Jack's warning coming too late, Sanderson touched the ball. A high-pitched shriek filled the air, and a force field snapped up around SG-1, trapping them inside the courtyard.

"Dammit, Sanderson! What the hell were you thinking!" Jack yelled.

"I-I-I'm sorry, sir!" the lieutenant stammered.

"O'Neill, we appear to be trapped," Teal'c told him.

Jack cautiously tapped on the force field with his weapon. "You think you can blast through this with your staff?"

"I am uncertain, but I will try."

The Jaffa took aim at a section of the force field several yards away. The blast struck the shield with no effect.

"Crap. So much for that." The colonel looked at the pole. "Teal'c, maybe if you blasted—"

His voice broke off abruptly as a bloodcurdling sound halfway between a howl and a roar echoed through the ruins, followed by another, and then another.

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better," Jack muttered.

The teammates closed ranks and backed up toward the center of the courtyard. A few seconds later, around twenty creatures came into view. They looked like a cross between a lion and a tiger, except that no Earth-born cat had ever been so huge or so powerfully built. Standing about five feet high at the shoulder, with massive muscles showing beneath coal black fur, they were the size of a large Kodiak bear, though sleeker of body.

The creatures circled SG-1, mere inches from the force field, their eyes staring at the team malevolently.

"Okay, we're in trouble here," Jack said. "Let's just hope this force field stays. . . ." His voice broke off as the very thing he feared happened. The force field vanished. Almost immediately, the animals moved in for the kill. SG-1 aimed their weapons at the creatures, knowing that there was no way they'd be able to stop them all.

Just then, a voice called loudly from somewhere off to their left. It spoke rapidly in a language none of them recognized. The animals stilled, their heads swiveling toward the voice. Then, to SG-1's amazement and utter relief, they backed away a few steps and sat on their haunches.

"What the heck. . . ."

The rest of Jack's question went unvoiced as a man came into view. He was clothed in dark, loose-fitting clothing. A hood was over his head, a gauzy veil covering his face. Another one of the beasts was walking beside him. The man came up to them, stopping a few feet away. He watched them silently, casually stroking the head of the creature that had accompanied him.

A moment later, Jack, Sam and Teal'c received the shock of their lives when a very familiar voice said, "I'm gone four lousy weeks, and look at the trouble you guys get yourselves into." The hood and veil were pulled off to reveal the smiling face of Daniel Jackson.

"Daniel!" both Jack and Sam cried.

The archeologist covered the rest of the distance between them. "Hi, guys," he said, a shy smile on his face.

Sam immediately engulfed him in a big hug. As soon as she let go, Teal'c stepped forward and clasped Daniel's arm.

"It is most pleasing to see you, Daniel Jackson," the Jaffa said.

"It's great to see you too, Teal'c." Daniel turned to Jack.

The colonel grinned and stepped forward, grasping Daniel's hand in a hardy handshake, his other hand taking hold of the younger man's upper arm. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Danny Boy." He pulled Daniel into a brief hug, patting his back solidly. Stepping back, he studied the archeologist's face. "Okay, Daniel. Would you care to explain to us what's going on? What are you doing here?" Jack asked.

"Oh, a little digging, Jack. You know how I like to play in the dirt."

"Uh huh. So, why aren't you safe and sound with the Nox?"

"I, um, decided that I couldn't stay there. They were wonderful, but I needed to find some dig somewhere and try to forget everything for a while."

"And so you came here?" Sam asked. "How did you know about this place?"

"Remember P3C-221, the planet the natives called Kilear?"

"Wasn't that the world where the culture was similar to the U.S. in the 1940's?"

"Yeah. If you'll recall, the people there have used their Stargate occasionally to visit other worlds. I went there to purchase some excavation tools and supplies and happened to find out about this place. It sounded like something I'd want to see."

Jack frowned, not at all liking the idea that Daniel was bouncing around the galaxy, all alone and unprotected. "And did they happen to mention those things in the travel brochures for this place?" he asked, pointing at one of the enormous cats, which was watching him intently.

"Um, no, the man I talked to didn't know anything about them. I'd guess that the people who visited this planet never saw them. This world was only visited once by the Kilearins. They aren't into archeology all that much, so it didn't hold much interest for them."

"So, you decided to just pop on over and check out the ruins?" Jack's voice was a bit too quiet, warning Daniel that the man was not happy.

"Yes. And before you say anything, Jack, don't forget that I spent years traveling to digs all over Earth, often on my own."

"Yes, but that was on _Earth_, where they don't have things like _that_!" The "thing" being referred to growled menacingly. Daniel spoke a few words to it, and it calmed down, its eyes still glued on Jack. The linguist turned back to his former C.O.

"Don't shout, Jack. They don't like it, and they think you're threatening me."

"Okay," Jack said in a lower tone of voice. "So, how is it that you can speak to those things, and how come they act like pets around you?"

Daniel pointed at one of the walls. "You see that writing? It's a variation of Sumerian cuneiform."

"Cuneiform? Wasn't that what Nem used?" Sam asked.

"Well, yes and no. That was Akkadian cuneiform, not Sumerian, and I don't think that Akkadian was Nem's native tongue. Anyway, this is a bit different from Sumerian, so it took me a little while to figure it out. As for being able to speak the language, I stumbled upon a building that had recordings of it. It's a variation of eme-gir, the official Sumerian dialect, and I was able to pick it up fairly quickly, which is a good thing because they," he pointed at the animals, "showed up after I'd been here for three days."

"And what are they?" Jack wanted to know.

"I found references that called them the Ur-mah-gal. Ur-mah is a Sumerian compound-sign word combining 'carnivorous beast' and 'mighty' and was the word for 'lion'. Gal, among other things, means 'large' or 'great'. So, I guess you could translate the name to mean 'great lion', which makes sense. From what I've learned, the Ur-mah-gal acted as guardians, but they were also trained to kill the Goa'uld."

That really caught Jack's attention. "What?"

"Yeah. The people who lived here called themselves Hetarans. The resident Goa'uld was Duamutef, who, according to Egyptian mythology, is one of the four sons of Horus. The Hetarans discovered that the Ur-mah-gal can sense a Goa'uld symbiote, and a plan was formed to train them to attack the Jaffa and Goa'uld. With their help, Duamutef was defeated and driven off the planet, sort of like what happened to Ra on Earth. The people then buried the Stargate, and it stayed buried for several hundred years, until they decided that it was safe to unbury it."

"So, what happened to them?" Sam asked.

"The records I found say that Hetara's orbit shifted slightly, causing it to rotate further away from the sun at a certain time every year. The temperatures at that time of year got a whole lot colder than the Hetarans were accustomed to, even in the hotter regions of the planet. Things got pretty bad for them, and they finally decided to leave. They moved their entire civilization to another world."

"How long ago was that?" Jack asked.

"Not too long ago, not on an archeological scale. Only about a hundred years, which is why these ruins are in such good shape."

"And they left the Ur-mah . . . whatever behind?" Jack asked.

"Some of them. They took as many as they could with them."

"Okay, so how'd you make friends with these things?"

"Ah, well, as I said before, I was here for about three days when they showed up. It had been so long since the last time any Ur-mah-gal had seen a human that I was quite a surprise to them. They didn't know what to make of me, and things were rather . . . tense for a while."

Jack stared at Daniel. "Tense?" He looked around at the animals, which could quite easily tear a human to bits in a matter of seconds.

"Yeah. I decided to try and communicate with them using the Hetaran language. It worked. I sort of befriended them. They actually seem quite happy to have me here. I guess they were lonely for human companionship."

Jack shook his head in amazement. "Daniel, only you could manage to make friends with a bunch of slavering wild animals."

"They're more than just animals, Jack. They're quite intelligent, able to understand virtually everything I say to them."

Sam thought of something. "Daniel, if the Hetarans have been gone for a hundred years, how can these animals know the language? They would never have heard it. Or do they live that long?"

"No, they don't live that long. The Ur-mah-gal have genetic memory, just like the Goa'uld. Each generation is born with the memories of the generations before. Though these Ur-mah-gal had never seen a human before, they have the memories of their ancestors, the generations that lived with the Hetarans."

"And along with that genetic memory came the memory of the Hetaran language?"

"Yes."

"So, what's with the getup?" Jack asked. "We didn't even recognize you."

Daniel looked down at himself. "Oh. The clothes are some of the ones I got on Kilear. The hood and veil are to protect me from insects. The building I was in has a large hive for a bee-like insect. I would have stayed out of the place, but it appears as if it was a school, and I was looking to see if there were any books left behind."

Sam pointed at the pole in the center of the courtyard. "Daniel, do you know what this is?"

"Well, it's a little like Thor's Hammer on Cimmeria, except that it doesn't transport Goa'uld to another location. At one time, there were hundreds of them all over the place. The whole city was ringed by them. This is one of only a few that were left behind. When they detect the presence of a symbiote, they sound an alarm. In the case of the ones that surrounded the city, their purpose was to keep any Jaffa or Goa'uld from getting inside. Ones like this were supposed to act as shelters for the populace. When the alarms sounded, the citizens would flee to the nearest shelter and activate the shield, then sit there, safe and sound, while the Ur-mah-gal wiped out the enemy. They would also protect the people from aerial attacks. They were all turned off. You must have accidentally turned this one on."

"Sanderson here touched the thing," Jack said, jerking a thumb in the lieutenant's direction.

"Oh, um, hi," Daniel greeted, really looking at the man for the first time. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself. I'm Daniel Jackson."

"Yes, Doctor Jackson. I know who you are," Lieutenant Sanderson said. "I've heard a great deal about you from everyone at the SGC." He stepped forward and shook the archeologist's hand. "I'm Lieutenant Gary Sanderson."

"Nice to meet you." Daniel looked at his friends, then back to Sanderson. "So, uhhh . . . you're my replacement?"

"I'm the new team member on SG-1, but I'm not stupid enough to consider myself your replacement, Doctor Jackson."

Daniel didn't know what to say to that. Thankfully, he was saved from replying by Jack.

"Okay, Daniel, so how long have you been here, playing with the nice kitties and frolicking amongst the ruins?"

"Not long, only a couple of weeks. I haven't even scratched the surface of this place. I could spend years here. Of course, that wouldn't be possible, not with the severe winters, but I've got the rest of the summer and early fall."

"Oh, I don't think so, Daniel," Jack said. "I want you to go to a nice safe planet, like the Land of Light. There's no way you're going to stay here all alone."

Daniel stared at him. "Jack, in case you've forgotten, I am no longer a part of the SGC. You can't order me to do anything."

"Daniel—"

"No, Jack. This is my life. This," he waved his hands about, "is all I have now until I can go home to Abydos. This is the reason I left the Nox, to immerse myself in my work, in being an archeologist. Besides, I'm not alone. The Ur-mah-gal will protect me from any threats. You guys are in a lot more danger here than I am. I had to do some pretty fast talking to keep them from tearing you apart. They know Teal'c is a Jaffa. They can sense his symbiote, and their genetic memory is telling them that he is the enemy. Since you're with him, so are you, especially since you can't speak the language."

Jack fell silent, knowing that he could no longer tell Daniel what to do. The archeologist had a new life, one that he seemed to be enjoying. That thought saddened Jack. Not that he wasn't happy that his friend was doing well, it's just that, if Daniel was content with his new life, he might not want to come back to Earth, even if they could get his job back.

"Follow me," Daniel said. "There's something I want to show you."

He led SG-1 to a small domed building. Jack wasn't too happy when two of the Ur-mah-gal followed them inside.

"I think this was an educational center or perhaps a library," Daniel explained. "Everything I've learned about the Hetarans and the Ur-mah-gal I learned here."

He touched a panel, and a screen on the wall lit up. Images started flashing across the screen, accompanied by a pleasant female voice speaking the same language Daniel used when talking to the Ur-mah-gal.

"Everything here still works?" Sam asked, getting excited.

"No, not everything. I did a quick, um, recon of all the buildings in this area, and a lot of the stuff that was left here doesn't work anymore, but there are other things that _do_ work, like these viewers."

"So, what other kinds of goodies did you find, Daniel," Jack asked, his interest also piqued.

"No weapons so far, if that's what you're asking, but this is a very big place. There's no telling what there is yet to find."

"Sir, just the technology that created those force fields could be of enormous value," Sam told Jack.

"Actually, I'm not sure if the force field generators would do you any good," Daniel responded. "The fuel that powers them must be just about gone. If it wasn't, the shield that trapped you guys wouldn't have deactivated by itself."

"It is possible, though, that the generators could be adapted to use fuel that we can produce on Earth," Sam pointed out. "We won't know until we study one."

"We definitely need to get the tech guys out here to see what they can find," Jack commented.

"Um, guys? There is one problem you're forgetting," Daniel said. Everyone turned to him, and he pointed at the Ur-mah-gal that were presently sitting at his feet. "The only reason I can control them is that I can speak the language. How many people involved in the Stargate Program could learn the Hetaran language before the Ur-mah-gal ripped them to pieces?"

Jack looked down at the animals, who stared back at him unblinkingly. "Good point. How many of these things are there?"

"I don't know. I've seen around fifty or so in this area, but I'm sure that there are a whole lot more. They are the dominant species on the planet. They have no natural enemies, and they've been breeding, unchecked, for a hundred years. The only thing that would have kept their population down is the severe winters and the availability of food."

"So, we could be talking thousands."

"Very likely."

Jack studied the Ur-mah-gal, wondering what it would take to kill one of those things.

"Jack, don't even think about it," Daniel warned. "You are not going to come here, guns blazing, and try to wipe them all out so that you can pick this city apart. They may be just animals to you, but this is their planet, and they have just as much right to live as we do."

As if sensing his anger, the two Ur-mah-gal got to their feet and growled at Jack. Daniel laid his hands on their heads and said in Hetaran, "Shhh. Peace, brothers. All is well." After a moment, the Ur-mah-gal settled down, but kept their eyes on Jack. Daniel returned his attention to his former C.O. "Besides, the Ur-mah-gal are strong enough to survive Goa'uld weapons. It would probably take at least a couple of blasts from a staff weapon to bring one down, unless you got lucky and hit it just right. Would you really want to face a couple thousands of these in battle?"

Jack looked at the cats again. "No, not especially. Don't worry, Daniel. I wouldn't send troops in here to wipe them out in order to get at what's in this city. It wouldn't be worth the risk to human life, and I wouldn't want to do it anyway." But he had to wonder if there were people back on Earth who _would_ consider doing that, people like Harry Maybourne.

Daniel gave him a nod. "Come on. I'll take you to where I've set up camp. I was just about to get something to eat when I heard the alarm."

SG-1 followed Daniel to a small building that looked like it might have been somebody's house at one time. The place was mostly intact, though the door had definitely seen better days.

"Would you like some fruit?" Daniel asked. "These are actually quite good, a little like plums." He passed around some red, oval-shaped fruit. "There's also dried fish, some tubers that taste sort of like sweet potatoes, and some berries that don't taste like anything I've ever had on Earth."

Sam watched Daniel pull out the food. "Is all this local?"

"Uh huh. I couldn't keep going back to Kilear for food, so I had to learn to live off of what I could find here. All I did was watch the animals to see what they eat. As for the fish, there's a small river about a mile from here that's full of them."

"You can fish?" Jack asked, his face lighting up.

"Yes, Jack, I can fish, though it's not my all-time favorite thing to do. When you're out in the middle of nowhere on a remote dig, you have to learn how to survive on what you can find locally to eat, unless you feel like packing a ton of food with you. I think you sometimes forget that I'm not some academic who spent his whole life up till Abydos in libraries and museums. I know how to survive quite well out in the wilds."

Jack didn't really have anything to say in response to that, so he kept quiet as he selected some fruit for lunch. He admitted to himself that he did often forget that Daniel had very ably taken care of himself for the better part of his life, many of those years in the harsh environments of digs all over Earth. Just because he had no combat or survival skills training didn't mean that he couldn't take care of himself. From the look of things, he could do so quite well, better than some soldiers in the same situation. But then, anyone else in this situation would have been lunch for the Ur-mah-gal.

Jack looked at Daniel, who had taken a seat on the floor, his back resting against the single Ur-mah-gal that had come into the house with them. The animal was lying contentedly behind him, a rumbling purr issuing from its throat. Daniel appeared to be totally at ease around the thing as he casually ate his lunch, occasionally feeding bits of fish to it.

"How can you do that?" Jack asked him.

"Do what?"

"Sit there like that with that thing close enough to bite your head off?"

Daniel smiled faintly. "Just think of it as an overgrown dog, Jack. They're not vicious unless they perceive you as an enemy . . . or as prey."

"Yeah, well, I think I'll keep my distance, if it's all the same to you."

Daniel's smile widened for a moment, then he turned to Sam. "Would you like to pet him, Sam? This one's name is Denali."

"They have names?"

"Uh huh. Well, I gave them names, at least some of them, and they learned them really fast. Like I said, they're very intelligent. I've been studying them from an anthropological viewpoint, and I'm beginning to think that they're even more intelligent than the Hetarans thought they were. I've seen them 'talking' to each other. Their language relies on body movement as much as verbal communication, but, from what I've seen, they can communicate with each other as well or nearly as well as we can. They're native to the planet. I haven't studied the whole history yet, but, somehow, the humans and Ur-mah-gal became friends, and the Ur-mah-gal came to learn the language of the people, which was pure Sumerian at that time."

The captain looked at the animal uncertainly, not sure that she wanted to touch it.

"He won't hurt you, Sam," Daniel assured her gently.

Sam hesitated a moment longer, then cautiously scooted closer. She carefully touched the animal's shoulder, ready to yank her hand back at the slightest hostile move. She was surprised when her fingers encountered incredibly soft fur, sleek and smooth like an otter's pelt.

"Wow. It's so soft," she murmured.

"Yeah. This is their summer coat. In the winter, they grow this really heavy fur that keeps them insulated against the cold. It's amazing how they've managed to adapt to the change in the climate. In fact, a lot of the animal life learned how to survive the climactic changes." He paused. "Life goes on."

Sam looked at Daniel, wondering if his comment was not just about the animals of this planet. She was about to ask him how he was doing when they all heard that same howling roar that the Ur-mah-gal had made earlier. The beast behind Daniel lifted its head, eyes pinned on the doorway. Daniel looked at it and spoke a few words in Hetaran. The animal immediately got up and ran out of the house.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"They're hunting, probably after a herd of the large, elk-like animals I've seen now and then. The Ur-mah-gal hunt in packs, like wolves, except that, instead of running their prey down, they ambush them. Several Ur-mah-gal drive the prey toward a bunch of others that are hidden. Then they surround the prey. They'll sometimes kill several animals in a single hunt and feed for several days. After a good feed, they can easily survive for a couple of weeks without food. They hibernate in the coldest part of winter, so, just before then, they gorge themselves to store up fat."

"Just like bears," Sam commented.

"So, those things won't be around for the next few days?" Jack made no secret of the fact that he liked that idea.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Jack, but, even if they do go on one of their long feeding periods, there will probably still be some hanging around during the day, and they'll still come into the city to sleep at night. Unlike many earthborn cats, they're not nocturnal, though they do prowl around a bit. I usually have at least two of them sleeping with me each night, and the rest of this pack tends to stay close. Like I said, they seem happy to have me here."

"Oh, joy."

Daniel grinned. "Look at it this way, Jack. With the Ur-mah-gal here, you don't have to worry about taking watches through the night. They're the best watchdogs you could find. Absolutely nothing or no one could get past them." His gaze dropped for a moment. "Um . . . will you be staying the night or are you going home today?" Though he'd tried to keep his tone casual, his friends heard the hope in the archeologist's voice.

"Oh, we'll definitely be staying the night, Daniel," Jack assured him. "We're going to want to check this place out more. This is scheduled to be a two-day mission, and I might extend that a couple of days, what with all these gadgets you're talking about."

A happy little smile flashed across Daniel's face. "Um, that's . . . that's good. I have plenty to show you." He was delighted that he'd be able to spend some time with his friends. He just wished that it could be a whole lot longer.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

After everyone had finished their lunch, Daniel began showing them around. Sam found several small devices that she decided she wanted to take with her to study. After Daniel assured them that they'd be safe from the Ur-mah-gal as long as they made no threatening moves, Jack took Teal'c and Sanderson with him to check out a building that looked like it might have been a military installation while Daniel took Sam to a lab he'd found.

Eyes bright with excitement, Sam wandered around the lab, fascinated by the equipment there. Daniel just stood back and watched her, a soft smile on his face. It was so good to see her, to see all of them. When he'd come running to find out what had set off the alarm and saw his ex-teammates, he couldn't believe it. Out of all the worlds in the galaxy, what were the odds that they'd show up on this one at the same time as he was here? It was almost enough for Daniel to believe in divine intervention.

Seeing them again was both heaven and hell, heaven because he'd missed them so much that it made him feel like grinning from ear to ear to be with them, hell because the thought was never far from his mind that they'd be here no more than a few days, then they'd be gone and he'd be all alone again. But being alone had been his choice, hadn't it? This isolation had been self-imposed. He could have stayed with the Nox or the Tollans or gone to the Land of Light or to any of a number of other planets where he knew friendly civilizations resided. Instead, he'd chosen to come here, to a world devoid of human life. Why? Because, here, with no one but the Ur-mah-gal for company, he didn't have to hide how much he was hurting inside, because, in this place, he could bury himself in the crumbling remains of a long-abandoned city and try to forget that, yet again, everything he cared about had been taken away from him.

"Daniel? Are you okay?"

Sam's concerned voice snapped him out of his depressing thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."

Sam came up to him and rubbed her hand up and down his arm. "How are you doing, Daniel?" she asked. "And don't tell me you're fine unless you really mean it."

Daniel sat on a nearby bench, his gaze on the floor. "I'm . . . okay, better than I could be, I guess." He lifted his eyes to hers. "I miss you guys like crazy."

Sam sat beside him. "We miss you, too, Daniel, a lot. The colonel has been an ogre since you left."

Daniel's lips quirked upward. "He has?"

"Uh huh. So has Teal'c."

Daniel's smile grew a little. "And what about you?"

"Um, well . . . I haven't been in that great a mood either."

Daniel's smile widened to a full-blown grin, but it lasted only a few seconds, then he was serious again. "It hasn't been easy. The first few days were really hard. The Nox helped as much as they could, but I still felt lost, cut adrift. I finally realized that I needed to throw myself into work. It's the only thing that keeps the feelings at bay."

Sam nodded, having figured out long ago that Daniel escaped into his work when life got too painful. "Is it better now?"

"Yeah, during the day, when I'm working. At night. . . ."

Sam couldn't imagine how lonely Daniel would be at night, all alone on this planet. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stand it.

Daniel sighed. "But the Ur-mah-gal are good company, even if they can't talk."

"But it's not human company."

"No."

"Are you going to stay here until you go to Abydos?"

"No, it'll get too cold before then. I'll stay here as long as I can, then move to another planet. I'm thinking of going to P9K-173. That was the planet where SG-6 found the Aztec ruins. I always wanted to explore that place. And it's safe. The natives are peaceful."

Sam's eyes dropped to the floor. "I guess this must be nice, finally being able to explore alien ruins to your heart's content, not having to leave when the colonel says so."

"Yeah, it is. After all, I am, above all, an archeologist. That was my life's work before I opened the Stargate, and, out here, I can explore ruins that most archeologists on Earth could never dream of."

"Are you going to keep doing this even after the Abydos gate is unburied?"

"I'm not sure. I've been thinking about it. But it's too early to be making a decision like that. I'll see how things go once I get to Abydos."

Sam fell silent. She wanted to ask Daniel if he would come back to Earth if he could have his job back, but she was afraid of the answer. He seemed to be adapting to his new life, learning to enjoy it. Like Daniel said, he was an archeologist, and he now had an opportunity that many of his peers would kill for.

Maybe if Daniel was going to be on this planet for a few more months, he'd still be here when they got his job back, _if_ they got his job back. Then they could ask him if he wanted to come home.

"So, other than being grouchy, how have you guys been doing?" Daniel asked. "How's, um, Lieutenant Sanderson working out?"

"Oh, he's all right. He's a nice enough guy, but he's not you, Daniel, not by a longshot. He can't hold a candle to you intellectually, and he doesn't have your passion, drive or determination. He does what he's told, when he's told."

"I bet that makes Jack happy."

Sam looked at him sharply. "No, Daniel, it doesn't. The colonel wants you back just as much as Teal'c and I do. Our first mission with Sanderson was almost a disaster. He was trying to talk with the natives and accidentally insulted the leader because he didn't understand certain customs of theirs. If it had been you, even if you had done the same thing, you'd probably have been able to calm them down, and everything would have been fine. Sanderson was in way over his head, and we had to beat a hasty retreat."

"I'm sure he'll learn," Daniel said quietly.

"Maybe eventually, if he survives that long and if the colonel doesn't boot him off the team. But, no matter how long he's on the team, he will never have the skills you possess or what made you so valuable to the SGC and SG-1. And we're not the only ones who miss you, Daniel. The SGC has been unable to get anyone with your linguistic skills. Three different missions couldn't be completed because they hit a stumbling block in regards to a language that couldn't be translated. A trade agreement fell through because of a cultural problem that you could probably have gotten around. The archeology and linguistics departments are buried under uncompleted work, which has affected even more missions because of major delays. General Hammond is not at all happy. Even some of the Marines who thought you shouldn't be on SG-1 have grudgingly admitted that you're needed at the SGC."

Daniel stared at the floor for a long, silent moment, not knowing what to think or say. It gave him satisfaction to know that he was missed at the SGC, that his contribution had some importance, but it was not something he wanted to think about, not now when it didn't really matter anymore.

He rose to his feet. "Well, we'd better get back to Jack and the others before they go wandering off."

Sam grinned and stood up. "Daniel, if you'll recall, you were the one who tended to wander off when there was an archeological site to explore."

"Yeah, but Jack might just decide to do some exploring of his own this time, and I forgot to tell him that some of the buildings are used as dens by the Ur-mah-gal. They might not take kindly to having Jack and the others drop in unannounced."

They made their way to the structure that the others were going to be checking out. Jack, Teal'c and Sanderson were just exiting the building when Daniel and Sam arrived.

"Find anything, sir?" Sam asked her C.O.

"I'm not sure. There is some stuff in there that might be promising, but I wasn't about to start fiddling with it and maybe blow myself up. I'll let you take a look at it tomorrow. Right now, we've got to get to the Stargate for our scheduled check-in."

"Jack, don't tell the general about me," Daniel said.

"What? Why?"

"Because he'd be required to report it, and he might get orders to make you take me back."

"We wouldn't take you back against your will, Daniel."

"But then you'd be defying orders, and I don't want you to get into trouble over me. After you go back home, you can tell him about me. If anyone gets the bright idea to send someone after me, you can tell them that they wouldn't like the welcoming committee." Daniel pointed at an Ur-mah-gal.

"Right. Okay, Daniel, you have a point. I won't tell Hammond that you're here. Teal'c, you're with me. Sanderson, Carter, check out a few more of these buildings with Daniel, then go back to his house and set up camp." Jack stared at the Ur-mah-gal. "Daniel, are you _sure_ those things won't bother us?"

"They know now that you're my friends, Jack. They'll leave you alone."

As Daniel had promised, the Ur-mah-gal didn't bother Jack and Teal'c as they traveled to the Stargate, though two of them did shadow the men.

"O'Neill, what do you intend to tell General Hammond about the planet?" the Jaffa asked.

"I'm going to tell him the truth, that we've found some promising technology in the ruins and we want to check it out further. I'm going to ask to extend the mission two more days."

"You will not speak of Daniel Jackson or the Ur-mah-gal?"

"No, not until the debriefing when we get back."

"Since your government is seeking to obtain technology, will they not want to take what is here?"

"Yes, I should imagine so, which is the problem. Nobody but Daniel can control the Ur-mah-gal, so he would have to be here when they sent a team through to collect the stuff, which means that Maybourne would find out that he's here. Daniel may be right about them trying to force him to return to Earth. We need to find a way to guarantee that he will be left alone."

"Daniel Jackson is well protected by the Ur-mah-gal. Could he not use that to his advantage?"

A smile came to Jack's face. "You're right. As long as Daniel's in the company of at least one of those things, he's pretty safe. Only a complete idiot would try to forcibly remove Daniel from the planet as long as those things are guarding him. We'll just have to be sure Daniel keeps his new buddies close by."

General Hammond was excited by the news about the technology and agreed to give SG-1 two additional days on the planet. When Jack and Teal'c got back to the house, they found that Sam and Sanderson had laid out the sleeping bags in what must have been a bedroom. Daniel was already set up in the other bedroom.

"We've got two additional days, kids," Jack announced, seeing a pleased smile briefly touch Daniel's face.

That evening, as they ate their dinner, Daniel told them a little more about what he'd done over the past four weeks.

"So, how are the Tollans doing in their new home?" Sam asked.

"All right, I guess. I only saw them once, shortly after I arrived. They're living in the floating city we saw."

"And what about Anteaus and his family," Jack asked.

"They're good." Daniel smiled. "I was teaching Nafrayu how to read and write hieroglyphics before I left." He fetched the parchment that the boy had given him and showed it to the others.

"It sounds like they took you right into their family," Jack said, remembering how Anteaus had been so insistent that they leave when SG-1 was on the Nox world.

"Yes, they did. I learned a lot from them, about their culture and beliefs. They are so incredible. There's no crime on their world at all, no war, no hunger or poverty. Hardly anyone dies of sickness or injury since they are able to heal each other. They live in complete harmony with each other and nature."

"It sounds wonderful," Sam said.

"It is. If only Earth could do likewise."

As Daniel talked about his exploration of the Hetaran ruins, everyone could see the excitement on his face. It was clear to see that he was totally wrapped up in the work he was doing there.

"I've already almost filled up a whole journal, and I've barely begun," he told them.

"That's good, Daniel. I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself here," Jack said, trying to sound completely sincere. "There is something we need to talk about, though." He told everyone what he and Teal'c had been discussing.

"So, what do you think, Daniel?" he asked. "Are you going to be okay with people coming in and pulling out all the gadgets? I mean, I know how you feel about archeological sites, and you were the first one here, so. . . ."

Daniel looked at him in surprise. "Jack, are you asking my permission to let teams come in and strip this place of all the technology?"

"Well, no, not really. I mean, since you got here first, I think that you should have a say in what goes on here, sort of like finders keepers, but once the higher-ups find out about this place, what _I_ think probably won't matter. I just want to know how you feel about it."

Daniel thought about it. "The technology in this place is a part of the Hetaran history and culture, but, for me, it's not what's most important. The history of the Hetarans as a people, their language and their art, their architecture and the way they lived their lives is what matters to me. So, yes, it's fine with me if someone takes all the technological gadgets as long as they do no damage to the city." He paused. "With one exception. They are not to touch the educational center. There is nothing there that they need to take, and it is a priceless record of the history and culture of these people."

"I think we'll be able to arrange that. If all else fails, you could put the Ur-mah-gal on guard duty. That would keep the vultures in line."

A couple of hours later, everyone had gone to bed except for Jack, who was taking first watch. He'd been sitting outside the house for about half an hour when he heard soft footsteps approaching from inside. A barefooted Daniel appeared in the doorway and sat down beside him.

"You know, I told you that it wasn't necessary to take watches," the archeologist said. "See out there?" He pointed toward several Ur-mah-gal, who were curled up on the ground a few yards away. "They'd be aware of something coming long before you would."

"Yeah, I know. I just wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't know that there was one of us keeping watch." He glanced at his friend. "So, how come none of those things are house guests tonight?"

"Oh, I told them that it would be best of they all stayed outside tonight since I have company."

Jack shook his head. "It's almost creepy how well you get along with those things and how they obey you so completely."

Daniel looked at the group of big cats. "For hundreds of years the Ur-mah-gal were protectors and companions to the Hetarans. They were treated with love and respect and loved the Hetarans in return. Those memories survive within this generation even though I was the first human these Ur-mah-gal had ever seen with their own eyes."

"So, to them, you're a Hetaran."

"Yes." Daniel looked at the cats. "But I think it's more than that. I think they can sense that I respect them, that I wish to be their friend. I have a theory that they're at least a little bit empathic."

"So, tell me a little more about when you first saw them."

"Well, needless to say, I was pretty scared. For a while, I was positive that I was going to die."

"Let me guess. You did what you always do. You stepped forward and gave your peaceful explorers speech."

"More or less. I had learned a little bit about the Ur-mah-gal at the educational center. From what I'd read, it sounded like they were very intelligent. I figured that I had nothing to lose by trying to talk to them. I wouldn't be any more dead if I failed and they attacked me than if I did nothing and they attacked me. So, I did a variation of my peaceful explorers speech in Hetaran."

"And so started a beautiful friendship."

"Yeah."

"I have to tell you, Daniel. You've surprised me. You seem so . . . comfortable here, like you really are a native. I haven't seen that since Abydos."

Daniel was staring at Jack with a surprised look on his face. "You really think that? That I feel comfortable here, like it's my home?"

"Well, no, not like it's your home. You just seem at ease and well adapted."

Daniel looked away, gazing off into the darkness. "Growing up, I had to learn how to adapt quickly, to learn the rules of each new household so that I could fit in. After I got out of school and began going on digs, I found out that I was different from a lot of archeologists. Many archeologists on a dig are still very much foreigners. They may know the native language, eat the local food, but if they are from the U.S., they're still very much Americans, if they're from England, they're still as British as ever, and so on, and so on."

"But not you."

"I'd immerse myself in the culture, with the people, learn and respect their customs and beliefs. I'd often dress like the locals. I would always make sure to speak the native tongue of the workers and other locals when I was talking to them. I would become a part of their world."

"And that's what you've done here?"

"Yes. Granted, there aren't any other people around, so I don't have to worry about fitting in with their culture or dressing like them, but I still try to adapt and fit in with the place in general. Since the Ur-mah-gal are an integral part of all this, I'm trying to become as much a part of their society as I can so that we can coexist peacefully and without misunderstandings. I've even been to one of their dens and played with their cubs."

Jack thought about what Daniel was saying, a question coming to his mind. "So, why didn't you try to fit in with the military world of the SGC? It took me forever to get you to go to a firing range so that you could learn how to shoot better, and right up to the end you fought against learning much in the way of hand-to-hand combat. You certainly didn't follow the military hierarchy. What's the difference?"

Daniel didn't answer for a few seconds. "Because to fit in with the military world, to become like that, I'd have to change who I am, the kind of person I am. When I went on a dig and immersed myself in the culture, adapted to it, I was still _me_. I wasn't changing who I was on the inside. It was different at the SGC. I didn't _want_ to learn how to shoot better so that I could more easily kill someone. I didn't want to learn how to break somebody's neck with my bare hands. Those things are in opposition to the kind of person I am. As for following orders, well, that's something I've always had trouble with, especially when the orders were something I didn't agree should be done. Probably, in time, I'd have learned, yet again, to adapt, to fit in, even if it was only for the sake of my own safety and yours, but there are ways that I could _never_ have fit in, no matter how many years I was with the SGC."

There was silence for a long time as Jack tried to decide if he had the guts to ask the question to which he needed to know the answer.

"So, you're happier here, doing this kind of stuff, things that don't make it necessary for you to change who you are?"

"In a way, yes."

Jack felt a sudden weight pressing down on his chest in the vicinity of his heart.

"But I'd still give it up in a heartbeat if I could have my place back on SG-1," Daniel said quietly.

Jack's head jerked around, and he stared at Daniel, the heaviness in his heart lifting. "What? But I thought. . . ."

Daniel looked at him. "Jack, I may love archeology. Exploring these ruins may be like a dream come true for me, but it isn't where I need to be. I need to be on SG-1, looking for Sha're, helping to fight the Goa'uld, and exploring new worlds and cultures, at least until the day I can free my wife and take her home." He gave Jack a smile with a touch of sadness. "Not only that, but I miss you guys. There's a whole lot less joy in seeing all these wonders when I can't share it with my friends."

Jack's hand came out and laid on Daniel's shoulder for a moment. "We've been trying to get your job back, Daniel. Carter, Teal'c and I went to D.C. and pounded on a few doors."

"Any luck?"

"A little. We'll get you back, Daniel. We won't give up until we do."

"Thanks, Jack. I appreciate it."

"If we just had some leverage, we could do it."

Daniel looked out into the darkness of the night. All at once, an idea hit him, and a smile slowly formed on his face. "Jack? I think I just might have the leverage we need."

* * *

SG-1 walked down the ramp as the Stargate shut down behind them. They approached General Hammond.

"SG-1, is there a reason why you decided to come home ahead of schedule?" he asked. "You had requested two additional days for the mission."

"Yes, sir, there is a very good reason, and we'll tell you all about it in the debriefing," Jack replied.

"Very well. We'll debrief in an hour."

SG-1 quickly went through the standard post-mission physical and got cleaned up.

"All right, Colonel, what's this all about?" Hammond asked as they were all seated.

"Sir, Daniel's there," Jack told him.

The general was silent for a couple of seconds. "Doctor Jackson is on P5R-735?"

"Yes, sir. He was already there when we arrived."

"Why didn't you tell me this during your check-in?"

"Because Daniel was afraid that if certain people found out that he was there, they'd order you to have us bring him back."

"I see. Go on."

Jack and Sam explained to Hammond about Daniel, the city, the Hetarans and the Ur-mah-gal. By the time they were finished, the man was shaking his head in amazement.

"That young man never ceases to amaze me," he said. "So, these Ur-mah-gal. Doctor Jackson is the only one who has any control over them?"

"Yes, sir," Jack confirmed. "With him around, they're like a bunch of big dogs, but without his influence, they're deadly killers."

"Which means that we couldn't send any teams though to Hetara without Daniel acting as the . . . liaison to the Ur-mah-gal," Sam added.

Hammond frowned. "I see. All right, I can make a few phone calls, explain the situation, and do what I can to see that Daniel is allowed to remain on the planet and will not be forced to return to Earth."

"Um, no, sir, we don't want you to do that," Jack told him.

"I don't understand."

"Well, you see, sir, Daniel has a plan."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Colonel Maybourne walked through the corridors of the SGC, a group of men behind him. He made his way to the briefing room. There, he found General Hammond and SG-1.

"Ah, Maybourne. So _not_ nice to see you," Jack said.

Maybourne ignored him. "General Hammond, these are the men I've assigned to collect the technology on the planet. I trust that there are not going to be any difficulties or delays."

"No, Colonel, you have a go to leave with SG-1 for Hetara immediately."

"Why is SG-1 coming? We can handle this mission just fine on our own."

"They are familiar with the planet. You'll need them to show you around and explain things to you."

"Yeah, wouldn't want you to go falling down any deep holes or anything," Jack said. "Well, I, personally, wouldn't have any problem with it, but then, nobody listens to what I want."

Maybourne shot a glare at Jack. "Very well. SG-1 can show us the lay of the land, but I want it clear that I am in command of this mission."

"There is no question in my mind on who will be in charge on the planet, Colonel," Hammond said.

_'Oh, yeah. You got **that** right,'_ Jack thought to himself.

"All right, shall we go, then?" the NID colonel asked.

"Whenever you're ready, Maybourne," Jack replied.

They all went to the gate room. As the chevrons dialed up, Jack looked at his fellow colonel. "This is your first time through, right?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Have a big breakfast?"

"No bigger than usual. Why?"

Jack smiled nastily. "Oh, no reason."

The vortex whooshed outward, then settled into its usual gentle rippling.

Jack turned to Maybourne and his men. "We'll go first since we've done this lots of times before and will be able to stay on our feet when we come out the other side. Now, don't get lost." He and the rest of SG-1 walked up the ramp and through the event horizon.

Pausing a few seconds, Maybourne and his men followed them. They exited the other side, feeling chilled, several of them also feeling like their stomachs were going to turn inside out. Their discomfort was instantly forgotten, however, when they saw what was before them. A pack of two dozen enormous, obviously carnivorous animals stood a few yards away. Standing in front of the pack, with an animal on either side of him, was Doctor Daniel Jackson.

"What in the hell?" Maybourne exclaimed, climbing to his feet. "Doctor Jackson, what are you doing here? What are those things?"

"I'm here because I'm an archeologist, and this is an archeological site," Daniel replied. "I was on this planet well before SG-1 arrived. And, before you ask, no, my trip here had nothing to do with the Stargate Program. I came here all on my own. As for these," he indicated his companions, "they're called the Ur-mah-gal." A couple of the animals snarled menacingly, their eyes riveted on Maybourne. "And I don't think they like you very much."

The men with Maybourne looked at the pack nervously, hands on weapons that they knew would not stop the animals if they chose to attack.

Maybourne turned to Jack with a glare. "What kind of trick is this, O'Neill?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you about this?" Jack asked with mock innocence. "So sorry. You see, Daniel here, well, you could call him the Lord of the Ur-mah-gal. They really, really like him and will do anything he tells them to. Oh, and get this. He's the only one who can speak the language they understand. Just one of those many, many, _many_ talents he has that is no longer at our disposal because of a certain moronic ass." Jack gave him a false smile. "Hey, maybe you know him. Anyway, Daniel has a proposition for you, so you'd better listen up."

A glower on his face, Maybourne turned back to the archeologist. "What do you want, Jackson?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just want my job back on SG-1 and assurances that neither you nor anyone else you're connected to will _ever_ try to get me fired again. In return, I'll let you take all the technological gadgets you can find in this city, with only a few exceptions and some minor rules of acquisition."

"You'll _let_ us?"

"Yes, that's right. It's like Jack said. I am the only one the Ur-mah-gal will obey since no one else can speak the language of the people who used to live here. Without me telling them to leave you alone, I wouldn't lay odds on you and your people living very long. Oh, and if you think that these are the only ones and that, if you bring enough firepower, you can wipe them out, go look over that way."

Maybourne and his people turned to the right to see what looked like another couple of dozen Ur-mah-gal a few hundred yards away.

"And that's only a tiny portion of how many there are all totaled," Daniel informed them. "Unless you plan on bringing an entire army with heavy artillery through the gate, you wouldn't stand a chance."

Maybourne glared at Daniel. "This is blackmail, Jackson."

"Not at all, Colonel. It's a negotiation, a . . . trade agreement. I'm asking for something I want in exchange for something you want. You are perfectly welcome to turn right around and go back through the gate. But you will _never_ get what's on this planet without my help. So, it's up to you. Feel free to think about it for as long as you like. We're not going anywhere."

Maybourne stared at Daniel, looking like he was going to pop a blood vessel. Jack was enjoying himself thoroughly. Seeing Daniel get the better of the NID man was soooo sweet!

"How do I know for sure that any of the technology on this planet is going to do us any good?" Maybourne asked.

"You don't," Daniel replied. "I have no idea if you'll be able to use any of it. That's not my field of expertise. You saw the stuff that Sam brought back to the SGC. That should give you an idea of what's here. It's a big city with a lot of possible technological treasures, things that could be used to help fight the Goa'uld. It can all be yours in exchange for one small thing."

Maybourne was silent for a long time. He was up against a wall, and they all knew it. That damn archeologist was beating him. Then again, maybe not.

"All right, you have a deal. While my men start retrieving the technology, I'll return to Earth and work on getting you back in the SGC. There are a lot of people I'll need to contact, so it might take a few days."

"Oh, I don't think that's going to work out," Daniel said. "Within a few days' time, your men could get quite a bit accomplished, while I'd have no guarantee that you'll hold up your end of the bargain. This is how it's going to work. You and your men will go back to Earth and not return until I hear straight from General Hammond that I have my job back. Then and _only_ then will you be allowed in the city."

Maybourne almost let out a snarl. Forcefully calming himself enough to speak, he said, "Fine. I accept your terms." He snapped an order to one of his men to dial up the gate. A short while later, he and his people disappeared through the wormhole.

Jack strode up to Daniel and grasped the younger man's shoulders, laughing. "Daniel, you made me proud. That was a thing of beauty. I never knew you were so good at playing hardball."

Daniel grinned at him. "I had a good teacher."

Jack laughed again and patted his shoulders. "You betcha!" He turned to the rest of his team. "Come on, kids. We've got a few days on this planet before Maybourne's people get back. Let's see if there's anything we really don't want them to get their hands on."

* * *

Over the next few days, Daniel and SG-1 scoured the city for any special "doohickeys" that they wanted to have the time to study themselves. Daniel found some electronic history books that he snatched up so fast that Jack barely had time to blink before they were gone. Sam, in turn, found some electronic technical manuals. Since the people at the NID wouldn't be able to read them until they were translated anyway, Sam figured that she might as well take them and give them to Daniel to translate. Of course, the NID would not be the only ones to get copies of his translations.

It wasn't a surprise to anyone when Jack decided that he was going to get in some fishing while he was there. He spent a few hours on the river with Daniel's homemade fishing rod while everyone else continued their "treasure hunt." They all dined on his catch that evening, including a couple of the Ur-mah-gal.

As the days passed, an interesting thing started happening. Whereas, in the beginning, the Ur-mah-gal simply tolerated the presence of SG-1, as time went by, they gradually became more friendly, never to the level that they were with Daniel, but enough that they would sometimes sit close by and watch what the members of SG-1 were doing. They seemed to like Sam the best, and the captain found herself quite often petting one or talking to it, even though she knew it couldn't understand her.

"I think it's because they can sense that you're my friends and that you don't want to hurt them," Daniel said to her when they were discussing it as they took a break.

Just then, the Ur-mah-gal that had been shadowing them throughout the day came up and started rubbing itself up against Daniel like an enormous house cat. Daniel scratched it behind its ears and was rewarded with a purr that sounded like an idling locomotive.

"Hey, Denali," Daniel murmured.

"That's Denali?" Sam asked, thinking that the cat did look familiar.

"Uh huh."

"That name sounds familiar. Isn't there a national park in Alaska by that name?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. The name means 'The High One'. Denali is the leader of his pack."

"You mean like the alpha male?"

"No, not really. Their social structure isn't exactly like any animal on Earth. Denali is the leader of his pack, but the others aren't in complete subservience to him, and he won't punish any pack member that argues with him or does something that he doesn't like."

"Ah, sort of like you and the colonel, huh?"

Daniel gave Sam a playful shove. "Very funny, Sam." He turned back to the Ur-mah-gal, who had settled at Daniel's feet and was watching them with interest. "As I was saying, their behavior patterns and social structure doesn't completely match any animal on Earth. Like, for instance, wolves and lions generally have only one pack or pride in any given territory, but there are three different packs of Ur-mah-gal living here in the city right now, and they socialize with each other freely. According to the Hetarans, members of different packs will even breed with each other. When that happens, however, one of them will join the pack of the other, the female usually being the one that moves to the other pack. The reason for this is that they are monogamous and mate for life, which is pretty rare for animals on Earth. Reka is Denali's mate, and if you watch them together, you can tell that they really care about each other."

"So, how come Denali is so attached to you? He is the one who's with you most often, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is. He's also the one who insists on sleeping with me most nights, him and Reka. I guess they sort of, um . . . adopted me. Reka has no cubs this year."

Sam laughed. "Well, Daniel, I have to say that they are the most unusual adoptive parents I've ever heard of."

"Hey, don't knock it. They're a lot more attentive and friendly than some of the foster parents I lived with."

It was five days after Maybourne's departure when Jack and Teal'c were greeted by the voice of a very pleased General Hammond when they went to the gate for the daily check-in.

"Colonel, there's a certain archeologist I need you to go fetch so that I can give him some very good news," he said.

"He's back in the SGC and on SG-1, sir?" Jack asked, already grinning.

"Yes, he is, Colonel O'Neill, with the blessings of the president himself."

"Yes!" Jack shouted. "That is great news, sir. I'll go fetch Daniel right away so that you can formally welcome him back. Would you like him to come through the gate so that you can do it face to face?"

"That's an excellent idea, Colonel. You go get him and send him on through."

Jack and Teal'c almost ran all the way back to where Daniel and the others were. They burst into the room, startling everyone.

"We did it!" Jack exclaimed. "Daniel, you are back on the team!"

Sam cried out in delight and grabbed Daniel in an enthusiastic hug, almost knocking him over in the process. Daniel was laughing, the biggest smile they had ever seen on his face. Once Sam let go of him, Lieutenant Sanderson stepped forward and shook Daniel's hand.

"Congratulations, Doctor Jackson."

"Thanks. Um, I'm sorry this means that you'll lose your place on SG-1."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I had a feeling right from the start that I wouldn't be staying on the team for long. They never stopped trying to get you back, and I figured that, sooner or later, they'd succeed. You belong on SG-1, Doctor Jackson. It's your team."

Jack came up and slung an arm over Daniel's shoulders. "Come on, Danny Boy. The General wants to welcome you back personally. Let's take you home."

Everyone packed up their stuff and made the trek to the gate.

Jack stepped aside and gestured toward the DHD. "Daniel? You do the honors."

With a smile, Daniel did what he had thought he'd never have the chance to do again: he dialed home. As the wormhole blossomed into existence and Sam sent the G.D.O. signal, the linguist told the Ur-mah-gal that had followed them that he'd be back soon. Then, with Jack's hand on one shoulder, and Sam's hand on the opposite arm, they all walked through the gate.

As they stepped onto the metal ramp on the other side, loud applause greeted them. General Hammond came forward and took Daniel's hand.

"Welcome home, Doctor Jackson. It's good to have you back."

"Thank you, sir. It's great to be back. So, when can I get back to work?"

"Son, you can start right this instant, if you'd like. Since you were never officially fired, there wasn't much to do to return you to full active status as a consultant. You'll find your office just the way you left it. Your fellow teammates made sure of that. But, right now, I happen to know that Doctor Fraiser is anxiously awaiting your presence in the infirmary. Once you're done there and have gotten cleaned up, come to the briefing room. I want to hear all about what you've been up to for these past few weeks. It sounds like you've got quite a tale to tell. Colonel Maybourne and his people will be here first thing in the morning to return with you to the planet."

By the time Daniel made it to the briefing room a couple of hours later, he'd lost count of how many people had welcomed him home. Even several of the Marines welcomed him back.

Daniel recounted to General Hammond everything he'd done since leaving Earth. The general was fascinated by the Ur-mah-gal and how the archeologist had befriended them, realizing that there probably wasn't another human being on Earth who could have managed it.

"Sir, there's something that concerns me," Daniel said. "It bothers me that there are still people who doubt my loyalty to Earth. I would never do anything to endanger this planet. When I helped the Tollans, it was not an act of disloyalty."

"I know that, Son. I never had a doubt in my mind about your loyalty to Earth. Those other people just don't understand that you were protecting our integrity by doing what you did. I'm confident that, in time, they will recognize your loyalty to this planet."

That evening, there was a little party at Jack's house. In addition to SG-1 and Lieutenant Sanderson, who was invited at Daniel's insistence, Doctor Fraiser and Cassie were also present. The little girl had been all over Daniel when she first arrived, delighted that "Uncle Daniel" was back. It wasn't long before the archeologist found himself repeating the story of how he befriended the Ur-mah-gal to Cassie and her mother, who were both amazed by the tale.

"You have no idea how relieved I am that you're back, Doctor Jackson," Janet said when they were alone. "Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter and Teal'c were unbearable while you were gone."

"Yeah, that's what Sam told me," Daniel responded with a smile.

"I should imagine it makes you feel pretty good that they missed you so much."

"Yes, it does. It's good to have friends like them."

Early the next morning, Daniel returned to Hetara with SG-1 so that he could talk to the Ur-mah-gal and explain what was going to be happening. Maybourne showed up two hours later. The first thing Daniel did was show the men which buildings were dens for the Ur-mah-gal so that everyone would stay out of them. After that, he showed them the educational center, making it clear that they were not to touch it. And then he told them the rules, that they were not to damage any structures or artifacts in order to get at the technology without clearing it with him first. That's when Maybourne lost what little patience he had.

"Doctor Jackson, you have no authority to give us orders or tell us what we can and cannot do," he said. "You may be in control of these creatures, but, now that you're back on the payroll of the U.S. government, you are under our jurisdiction. If you threaten us with those animals, I will have you arrested. We are in charge here, and we will take everything we want in whatever manner we want, regardless of what we have to tear down to get it."

Instead of the anger and dismay Maybourne had expected to see, there was a little smile on Daniel's face. The archeologist turned to Jack.

"Would you like to break the news to him?"

"Love to," Jack replied. He looked at the NID man. "Here's the deal, Maybourne. There's another little detail that you may not have been told. Since, one," he held up a finger, "this is an important archeological dig, and Daniel is our archeological expert, two," another finger came up, "he is the only one here who can read the language, and, three," up went a third finger, "Daniel is the one who controls the Ur-mah-gal, General Hammond has put him in charge of this mission. In other words, he's the boss, and you take orders from him."

"Not a chance, O'Neill. I am not taking orders from a civilian archeologist!"

"Well, that's exactly what you're going to be doing, Maybourne, so live with it. It is within Hammond's power to give command of a mission to a civilian if that civilian is the best qualified to be in command. Daniel is most definitely the one most qualified to be in charge of this mission. If you don't like it, you can take it up with the general."

"Oh, I intend to, O'Neill. I'll go as high as necessary." He turned on his heels and left.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud," Jack muttered. "Doesn't that guy ever stop being a pain in the ass?" He looked at Daniel. "I guess I'd better go with him to keep an eye on him. Don't worry, Daniel. We've got all the cards this time around. Maybourne's not going to get what he wants."

Maybourne and Jack returned to the SGC and went straight to General Hammond's office, where the NID man loudly objected to Daniel being in command of the mission.

"Colonel Maybourne, let me make something clear to you," Hammond said sternly. "Doctor Jackson was the first person on the planet, and, at the time, he was not an employee of this government. Secondly, he has been accepted by the local population and has become part of their community, has, in fact, become their leader, from what I gather."

"They're animals!"

"Are they? According to Doctor Jackson, they understand the Hetaran language, began answering to the names he gave to them almost immediately, appear to have their own language, possess the memories of previous generations, and may possibly be empathic. That sounds like a hell of a lot more than an animal to me, Colonel. For all we know, they could be as intelligent as we are. Regardless, they are the dominant species on that planet, and since Doctor Jackson has become their leader, he is, for all intents and purposes, the ruler of that planet. Therefore, a very good case could be made that he has the right to refuse us access to the city. In fact, he could order us off the planet. Instead, he's letting us take the technology from the city, asking only that we not damage the structures and artifacts or remove certain items. So, Colonel, I would suggest that you accept Doctor Jackson's terms gracefully and be content with what you can get."

"You know, Maybourne, this is your own fault," Jack said. "If you hadn't gotten Daniel kicked out of the program, he'd have only been a member of my team when we went to Hetara and would have had no power to stop you from tearing the place apart." Jack grinned. "Ain't payback a bitch?"

And so it was that a very unhappy Maybourne returned to the planet. His men got to work on removing the technology under the watchful eyes of Daniel, the rest of SG-1 and the Ur-mah-gal. Daniel had explained to the cats what Maybourne's people were and were not allowed to do, and they turned out to be good watchdogs, not letting Maybourne's men get away with doing anything that was against the rules. In fact, they were so good at it that nobody tried anything even when one wasn't around for fear that there would be reprisals if Daniel or an Ur-mah-gal found out.

Maybourne's men worked quickly and efficiently, gathering any and all pieces of technology that they found. Items too large to move all in one piece were carefully disassembled for transport.

While this was all taking place, Daniel was busy videotaping and taking rubbings of the inscriptions that were on the walls for later translation. He also continued his search of the ruins for books and non-technological artifacts. Lieutenant Sanderson, who had requested to continue working with the team for the duration of the mission, gave him a hand, the two men spending hours together each day talking about anthropology and archeology. Sanderson was actually surprised when he started developing an interest in archeology, particularly Egyptology, listening in fascination as Daniel talked about the history and mythology of Egypt and how it tied in with the Goa'uld.

"You make it sound a whole heck of a lot more interesting than my teachers in school did," the lieutenant commented one day.

Daniel smiled. "Well, maybe that's because Egyptology has a whole new meaning for us now. When you were in school, the Egyptian gods were only myths. We now know differently."

"Yeah, you could be right."

A couple of days later, Daniel was asked to come to a circular building he hadn't been to before. When he got there, he found Maybourne and one of his men standing outside, along with an Ur-mah-gal, who was watching them closely. But Daniel paid little attention to them. His eyes were immediately drawn to what he could see beyond the large open doorway of the structure. It was an incredible mural depicting the battle against Duamutef and his Jaffa.

"Wow," Daniel murmured in a hushed voice, entering the building to get a better look at the painting. Turning in a circle, he found that the mural went all the way around. "This must have been a memorial or perhaps a museum dedicated to the victory against the Goa'uld." He glanced at Maybourne. "Thanks for telling me about it."

"I didn't call you here to show you the pretty pictures, Doctor Jackson," the NID man said unpleasantly. He pointed at a device in the center of the room. "That is a holographic projector of some kind. It appears to work in conjunction with sensors that are implanted in the walls. We want to remove it."

Daniel looked more closely at the walls and saw tiny objects imbedded in them. He went to the main unit and turned it on. In awe, he watched what had been static, two-dimensional paintings gain depth and come to life, the figures moving across the walls, Ur-mah-gal attacking and killing Jaffa by the hundreds as Duamutef stood by, watching impotently.

Turning the projector off, Daniel turned to Maybourne. "Sorry, but I can't let you do that," he said calmly.

Maybourne's eyes narrowed. "I'm getting tired of hearing you say that, Jackson. This is highly advanced holographic technology that could be of great use to us."

"How? You can't use it as a weapon against the Goa'uld. In fact, I can't think of any way that something like this could help us fight them."

"The battle against the Goa'uld is not the only thing that will benefit from the technology we gather on this planet. There are hundreds of potential Earth applications."

"Yes, you're right, but my answer is still the same. If you manage to find one that's not being used, you're welcome to take it, but that one stays right where it is."

Daniel walked past Maybourne and headed outside, thinking that it might be a good idea to call for Jack. He'd gone a few yards when an irate Maybourne grabbed hold of his arm in a bruising grip and spun him around.

That proved to be a big mistake.

An ear-shattering roar sent chills up the NID man's spine. He turned around just in time to see an Ur-mah-gal charging him. Before he could do more than back up a step, it was on him. He let out a scream as he fell to the ground beneath twelve hundred pounds of muscles, teeth and claws.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a voice, and then the weight was gone. Maybourne lifted his head to see the Ur-mah-gal now standing a few feet away, Daniel talking to it softly, his hand on its head.

Still shaking from the attack, Maybourne stared at Daniel. "You called it off me?"

"That's right."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not like you, Colonel. I may have a lot of reasons to hate you, but I have no wish to see you dead." He glanced down at the Ur-mah-gal. "But I want you to think about this. I could have let her kill you, and no one would have put the blame on me. You owe me your life. What's that worth to you?"

Maybourne was climbing to his feet when several people came running into view. Jack was among them. He took one look at Maybourne's torn, bloodstained clothing and guessed right away what happened. But he asked anyway for the record.

"Okay, so what happened?"

"Colonel Maybourne did something that the Ur-mah-gal took exception to," Daniel explained, rubbing his upper arm where the colonel had grabbed it.

"Uh huh, and I think we can all figure out what that was. You really are stupid, Maybourne. You're lucky that Daniel's the nice guy he is and didn't let that thing eat you."

"Yes, I guess I am," Maybourne said in an odd tone of voice.

"Go get those cuts taken care of. You're a mess."

After Maybourne and the others left, Jack turned to Daniel. The archeologist was busy calming the Ur-mah-gal, which was clearly still upset.

"Okay, Daniel. What happened? What did Maybourne do?"

"Nothing much. He didn't get a chance. All he did was grab my arm, and Danu was on him."

Jack shook his head. "I thought Maybourne was smarter than that. What happened to set him off?"

Daniel took him inside the building with the mural. "He wanted this, and I told him he couldn't have it," the archeologist replied, turning the projector on.

"Whoa!" Jack exclaimed. "Now _that_ is cool!"

"Yeah, isn't it?" Daniel gazed at the scenes being played out, his eyes glowing. "Sam has got to see this. She'll flip."

"I'll let you surprise her with it," Jack told him, smiling at the childlike look on his friend's face.

Daniel turned the projector off and went back outside with Jack.

"It's probably a good thing that you're the one who's got control of these things," the colonel said, gesturing toward the Ur-mah-gal that attacked Maybourne. "If it had been me, I'd probably have let it eat him."

Daniel shook his head. "No, you wouldn't," he said confidently.

"I wouldn't?"

"Nope. You may not like Maybourne, but you wouldn't let any human being suffer that kind of fate."

Jack thought about that. "Yeah, you're right. Maybourne may be an unscrupulous son of a bitch, but even he wouldn't deserve to die like that." He grinned. "But I might have let it chew on him just a little bit."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Maybourne's team had been on Hetara for six days when Teal'c found something very disturbing.

Jack, Daniel and Sanderson looked at the skeletal remains of two Jaffa.

"Uh oh. That's not good," the archeologist stated.

"I suppose there's not much chance that they're leftovers from the big battle with the Dua guy," Jack said.

"Afraid not, Jack. Those bodies aren't even close to being that old." He fingered a piece of cloth that was sticking out from the armor of one of the Jaffa. "It's only just starting to rot, which means that it isn't more than a few years old."

"Which means that Jaffa have been to this planet in the not so distant past," Sanderson said.

"And _that_ means that more could show up at any time," Jack concluded. He cursed. "Okay, this changes things. I need to report this to Hammond. He may decide to pull the plug on this salvage operation. But, first, we'd better go tell Maybourne the bad news."

Though Maybourne was a little concerned about the evidence of Jaffa activity, he decided that the odds of more showing up within the next few weeks was pretty remote.

"Maybourne, if you knew half of what anyone on an SG team knows, you wouldn't say that. Goa'uld and Jaffa have a nasty habit of showing up at the worst possible moment. We could have an army of them coming through the gate in the next hour."

"Well, if you and your team want to leave, O'Neill, you're more than welcome to do so," Maybourne said with a sneer. "My team is going to stay and finish the job we came here to do."

"You know, Maybourne, I have half a mind to do just that, let you guys fend for yourself if Jaffa do come. The only problem is that, without Daniel here, you'd probably tick off the Ur-mah-gal, and I really don't want to fill out all the paperwork explaining how you and your whole team got eaten, not to mention the fact that you'd probably give those things a major case of indigestion, and I'd hate to see that happen."

In the end, Jack decided to go back with Teal'c to Earth to tell Hammond what they found. Daniel and Sanderson accompanied them to the gate.

"The two of you gonna be okay alone with Maybourne's people?" the colonel asked. Sam was presently back at the SGC, running some tests on a particular piece of technology that they'd found.

"We'll be fine, Jack. Don't worry." He patted the head of Denali, who had come with them. "We've got plenty of friends here."

Jack smiled. "Yes, you do. Okay, we'll be back in a couple of hours or so."

The gate was dialed up, and Daniel and Sanderson watched the two men disappear through it. Then they headed back toward the ruins. They were about a quarter of a mile from the city when they both froze, hearing a sound that sent their hearts racing. Their gaze went upward to see three ships that Daniel just _knew_ were Goa'uld fly overhead and land just outside the city.

Daniel turned to Sanderson. "Get back to the gate and warn the SGC!"

"No way, Daniel! I'm not leaving you here alone."

"Gary, someone needs to get back to Earth, and it can't be me. I need to gather the Ur-mah-gal. Most of them are out hunting today. The few that are in the city won't be enough to fight off that many Jaffa. Now, go! Get reinforcements!"

Hesitating a moment longer, Sanderson finally nodded. "All right, but you'd better not get yourself hurt, Daniel. The colonel will _kill_ me if you do." He then took off at a dead run toward the Stargate.

Daniel got on his radio. "Maybourne! Three Goa'uld ships just landed outside the city on the northeast side! Get out of there and try to make it back to the gate!" Not waiting for a reply, he turned to the Ur-mah-gal. "Denali! There's danger! Jaffa have come! We must call all the Ur-mah-gal to fight!"

The cat snarled at the mention of Jaffa.

"Can you call them? Call and tell them that there are Jaffa."

The huge cat lifted his head, nose pointing toward the sky, and let out a long, undulating cry that sent shivers up Daniel's back. A moment later, the cry was answered by the Ur-mah-gal within the city.

Telling him that they needed to get to the city quickly, Daniel climbed onto Denali's back and held on tightly as the Ur-mah-gal ran to the ruins.

Seeing no sign of any of Maybourne's people when he arrived at the ruins, Daniel got on the radio again. "Maybourne, where are you?"

"We're making our way to the southeast entrance to the city," came the reply. "We'll be there in—"

Maybourne voice was cut off by the sound of staff weapons fire.

Daniel cursed, then looked at his companion. "Denali, go! Help fight the Jaffa."

Denali looked at Daniel for a moment, then took off in the direction of the Jaffa. The archeologist ran after him, drawing his sidearm.

As he approached the northeast part of the city, the sound of fighting grew progressively louder. Along with the sounds of staff weapon blast, there were the snarls and roars of fighting Ur-mah-gal, interspersed with the screams of dying men.

Daniel turned a corner to witness the sight of around eighteen Jaffa being attacked by six Ur-mah-gal. The bodies of both Jaffa and Ur-mah-gal already littered the ground. Seeing a Jaffa take aim at one of the cats, Daniel put three bullets into him. Unfortunately, this drew the attention of two others, who opened fire on the linguist. Daniel dove for cover, just barely avoiding being hit.

At that moment, more Ur-mah-gal arrived, and the Jaffa were too busy fighting them to go after Daniel.

Daniel ran from cover to cover, the sounds of Jaffa, Ur-mah-gal and gunfire all around him. He followed the sound of the gunfire and finally found Maybourne and his men holed up behind the crumbling walls of a building with no roof.

"Where's the rest of your team?" Maybourne asked, ducking as a stray staff weapon blast took out a chunk of wall a few feet away.

"Jack and Teal'c had already gone through the gate when the Jaffa arrived. I sent Sanderson to go get help."

The NID man stared at him. "And you stayed?" he said in disbelief.

"I had to do something about getting the rest of the Ur-mah-gal back here to fight the Jaffa. There aren't enough of them in the city to handle this many Jaffa."

"We heard that noise," one of Maybourne's people said. "Was that them?"

"Yes, the Ur-mah-gal with me called to the others. We can only hope that the ones who are out hunting heard the call for help and arrive soon."

"Or that reinforcements arrive through the gate," Maybourne added. "How many Jaffa are there?"

"I don't know. Those ships looked like they'd hold quite a few."

Further conversation came to a sudden halt as several Jaffa appeared and started firing upon their hiding place. The humans fired back, but they were outnumbered and outgunned.

"Fall back!" Maybourne yelled as chunks of the walls exploded all around them.

The men took off, using what cover was available. Two of their number fell to staff weapon blasts.

Daniel was in the rear by a few feet when a blast hit something nearby, causing it to shatter. Daniel felt a sharp, searing pain in his left side, and he stumbled and fell. Panting from the agonizing pain, he looked up to see a Jaffa looming over him, staff weapon aimed at his head.

Suddenly, a massive black shape slammed into the Jaffa, bearing him to the ground. The Jaffa had time for one short scream before his throat was ripped out.

Feeling weak and nauseous, the pain like a hot poker in his side, Daniel laid his head back on the ground. A moment later, he heard a sound that was both terrible and beautiful: the battle cry of dozens of Ur-mah-gal.

With a smile on his face, Daniel closed his eyes and fell into darkness.

* * *

SG-1, SG-3 and SG-5 hurried toward the city, hoping that they weren't too late to save Daniel and the other humans. Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Sanderson were worried sick about their friend, knowing that the archeologist wouldn't stand a chance if he tangled with a troop of Jaffa. They could only hope that he'd joined up with Maybourne or that the Ur-mah-gal were able to protect him.

As they entered the city, they realized that it was far too quiet. There was no weapons fire, no voices or sounds of movement, nothing. The eerie silence got on all of their nerves. As the SG teams got into the northeast part of town, they began coming upon scenes of carnage. The bodies of Jaffa were everywhere, many of them no longer in one piece. There were also some dead Ur-mah-gal, but the Jaffa casualties far outnumbered them.

"God, what a mess," Jack said, his face twisting into a grimace.

"It looks like the Ur-mah-gal got here in time, sir," Sam said, looking a bit pale.

"Ya think?" He turned to the other SG teams. "Okay, guys. It looks like our friendly neighborhood kitty cats took care of the Jaffa problem, but there might be a few stragglers, so stay sharp. Oh, and do _not_ shoot anything that looks like a big, honkin' cat. They're on _our_ side."

"Sir, do you think that the Ur-mah-gal will be able to tell friend from foe?" Sanderson asked.

"Well, I sure _hope_ they can. Let's just hope that they're as smart as Daniel thinks they are, and they recognize us as the good guys."

The three teams split up and went in search of Daniel and Maybourne's people. They'd been searching for about fifteen minutes when the leader of SG-5 radioed that they'd found Maybourne and the survivors of his group.

"Is Daniel with them?" Jack asked.

"Negative. Colonel Maybourne says that Doctor Jackson was with them, but they got separated when they were attacked by a group of Jaffa."

"Damn. Okay, find out from him where he last saw Daniel."

Following the directions of the NID colonel, SG-1 and Sanderson headed toward the last known position of the archeologist. They hadn't gone far when they started hearing something that made the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on end. It was a mournful, howling cry that wavered up and down the scale. The cry was picked up by the voices of others until the air around them was filled with the sound.

"My God. What is that?" Sanderson said. "Is that the Ur-mah-gal?"

"It must be," Sam said, shivering at the sound.

"They are mourning their dead," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, I think you're right, Teal'c," Jack responded quietly.

They resumed their trek, the cry of the Ur-mah-gal fading away . . . all except for one. That cry had more of a desperate note to it. It was heart-wrenching. A moment later, two more of the Ur-mah-gal took up the new cry, and then another. For some reason, that sound made a really bad feeling grow in the pit of Jack's stomach. Following the sound, SG-1 turned a corner and stopped dead.

"Oh, God, no," Sam gasped.

Four Ur-mah-gal were huddled beside the still body of Daniel. It was from them that the cry was issuing.

Not even thinking about the danger, Daniel's teammates and Sanderson ran toward the group. The Ur-mah-gal snarled fiercely, but then apparently recognized them. All but one of the cats moved back.

Dropping to their knees beside their fallen friend, the four people immediately saw the blood covering Daniel's left side and pooling on the ground beneath him. Terrified by what he might find, Jack felt for a pulse. He sighed with relief when he found one.

"He's alive."

"Oh, thank God," Sam murmured. She quickly got the first-aid kit out of her pack as Jack carefully eased Daniel's shirt up over the wound.

"Damn!" he cursed when he saw what the material had hidden. A jagged piece of metal was protruding from Daniel's body. "Shrapnel, probably from a staff blast. He's losing a lot of blood. We need to get him back to the base _now_!"

Afraid to press on the shrapnel for fear that it would do more damage, Sam packed the area around the piece of metal as well as she could. Teal'c then lifted Daniel's limp body into his arms, and they all moved as quickly as they could toward the Stargate, two of the four Ur-mah-gal following them. Jack radioed to the other teams to let them know what was going on and gave them orders to get Maybourne's people back to base as soon as possible.

By the time they got to the Stargate, Daniel's face had gone from pale to utterly white. His pulse and respiration were both dangerously weak, his skin cold and clammy. He was in severe shock.

As they exited the other side of the Stargate and yelled for a medical team, they were shocked when the armed men in the gate room suddenly lifted their weapons and aimed at them. No, not at _them_. They turned around to see that one of the Ur-mah-gal had followed them through the gate.

"Stand down!" Jack yelled. "It's a friendly."

Just then, Janet came rushing in with a medical team. They all came to an abrupt halt when they saw the Ur-mah-gal. Janet was the first to recover. She met Teal'c as he carried Daniel to the waiting gurney.

"Colonel, what in Sam Hill is that thing doing here?" Hammond asked, keeping a wary eye on the Ur-mah-gal.

Any answer Jack might have given was cut off when Janet shouted that Daniel's heart had stopped. SG-1 and Sanderson rushed over as the doctor climbed up onto the gurney, straddled the linguist's body, and started CPR.

Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Sanderson followed as the medical team hurried with Daniel out of the gate room, not caring that the Ur-mah-gal was right behind them. Its presence was definitely noticed by everyone they passed, however. It was normal for the base personnel to move out of the way quickly when a medical team was hurrying down the hall, but the speed at which everyone cleared the way this time would have been humorous if anyone had really been paying attention.

Since there wasn't enough room in the elevator for all of them, it would be necessary for SG-1 to take the stairs. The problem was that when the elevator doors closed, hiding Daniel from Denali's sight, the Ur-ma-gal got upset and tried to get through the doors. Fortunately, when it saw SG-1 run to the stairwell access, it apparently guessed that they were going to Daniel and followed them. On the way up to Level 21, more than one shocked member of the personnel nearly dove over the railing when they spied the big cat.

When SG-1 entered the infirmary, it was to the sight of Daniel still in cardiac arrest and the defibrillator being wheeled up to him.

Positioning the paddles, Janet yelled, "Clear!" and sent a charge through Daniel. His body arched off the gurney, then fell back down limply. The Ur-mah-gal made a sound between a snarl and a cry and moved toward the people it apparently thought were hurting Daniel.

Sam, in a move that would probably be considered foolhardy, quickly went to the cat and grabbed hold of it. She started stroking it, speaking in a soothing voice. She knew that it wouldn't understand her words, but she hoped that it would understand by the tone of her voice that Daniel wasn't being hurt. It must have since it stopped and just watched as Janet shocked Daniel again.

Everyone released a sigh of relief as Daniel's heart resumed beating.

"Okay, we need to get him to surgery, stat!" Janet shouted.

In a flurry of movement, Daniel was hustled off to the operating room. The Ur-mah-gal tried to follow, but Sam hung onto it and somehow made it understand that it couldn't stay with the archeologist.

When General Hammond arrived twenty minutes later, it was to see Sanderson and Daniel's teammates all gathered near the entrance to the O.R., worried expressions on their faces. It was the fifth member of their group, however, that held Hammond's attention. The Ur-mah-gal was pacing back and forth, its eyes on the door leading to the operating room, a soft, bleating cry coming from its throat.

"Colonel? A moment, please," the general called.

Jack went to his C.O.

"Would you like to explain now what that thing is doing here?" Hammond asked.

"It wasn't our idea for it to tag along, General. Obviously, it didn't want to be separated from Daniel."

The general frowned. "I can't say that I'm particularly happy about it being on this base."

"With all due respect, sir, it and the others of its kind just wiped out a whole lot of Jaffa and no doubt saved the lives of Daniel, Maybourne and most of his men. Besides, I really don't know how you plan on telling it that it has to leave."

Hammond looked back at the cat, knowing that Jack was right. Probably the only one who could tell the Ur-mah-gal to leave was Daniel. He just prayed that the young man lived to do so.

* * *

When Janet appeared a long, agonizing time later, everyone quickly got to their feet, including the Ur-mah-gal, which had finally settled down to wait.

"How is he?" Sam and Jack instantly asked.

"Lucky to be alive," the doctor replied. "The shrapnel perforated his spleen. He lost a great deal of blood. It was touch and go for a while, but I think he's going to be all right." She held up her hand as everyone opened their mouths to speak. "No, you can't see him yet. He's in Post-Op right now. As soon as we put him in the ICU, you can visit with him." Janet looked at the Ur-mah-gal, which was staring at her intently. "But I don't want that thing in there."

"Well, Doc, if you'd like to try telling it that, be my guest," Jack said. "I guess you could always try sedating it, though you'd probably need as much as it would take to put a rhino down to have any effect on it."

Janet glared at the cat, then grumbled something under her breath and went back through the doors. The Ur-mah-gal watched her leave, then turned to SG-1 as if asking what was going on. Sam came up to it and started petting it.

"It's okay, Denali. Daniel's going to be all right."

Whether the Ur-mah-gal picked up on Sam's emotions or heard the relief in her voice, it seemed to understand what she was telling it. It walked over to the wall and laid down, its back to the wall and its eyes still on the door.

"Denali. Isn't that the one that always seems to be hanging around Daniel?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Sam replied. "I didn't recognize him before, I guess because I was too upset and worried about Daniel. But I'm pretty sure that is Denali."

"How can you tell? They all look alike to me, except that some are bigger than others."

"There are little differences in their faces, sir, and the colors of their eyes vary a bit. Denali has the lightest eyes of the ones I've seen."

A while later, Daniel was brought out on a gurney and wheeled into the ICU. As Jack had guessed, the instant the Ur-mah-gal laid eyes on the archeologist, it would have taken a bulldozer to drag the cat away from Daniel's side.

As soon as Daniel was settled in a bed, his team gathered around him. The young man's face was very pale and haggard-looking. Jack thought that he looked like death warmed over. But he was alive. Daniel Jackson had pulled another life out of his hat and survived. Jack really, really hoped that this was not going to be a regular occurrence.

The colonel felt something nudge him and turned to see the Ur-mah-gal trying to squeeze past him. He stepped back and let the cat have the right-of-way. Denali went to the head of the bed and stared as Daniel's face, once again making that bleating sound. Then, to everyone's surprise, he swiped his tongue up the length of Daniel's cheek.

They received a second surprise when Daniel mumbled in a whispery voice, "Cut it out, Denali. I'm awake. I'm awake." Slowly, his eyes opened.

"Hey, Daniel. How are you feeling?" Sam asked gently.

Daniel looked at her blearily, then at the others, his eyes coming to a rest on the Ur-mah-gal. "What happened?"

"You got hurt in the Jaffa attack, Daniel," Jack replied. "You don't remember?"

Daniel's brow knit in a frown. "Oh. Yeah, I remember now. Something hit me in the side." His hand went to the bandages over his injury.

"You could say that," Jack told him. "A huge piece of shrapnel."

"You're very lucky to be alive," Sam said.

"Indeed you are," Janet said as she came up to the bed. Her eyes went briefly to the Ur-mah-gal, a frown of disapproval on her face, then she focused her attention on her patient. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Tired. Kind of hurts."

"Well, we'll fix you up with some nice happy juice for the pain. What you need now more than anything is lots of rest." Janet glanced at Daniel's teammates meaningfully. "However, before you go back to sleep, could you please tell that animal to leave the infirmary?" There was a short pause. "Daniel?" The doctor looked at him more closely and saw that he was already back to sleep. She let out an exasperated sigh, then looked at the others. "Since I'm assuming that at least one of you is going to be staying here, regardless of whether or not I tell you to leave, could you _please_ tell him as soon as he wakes up that I want that thing out of here?"

"Will do, Doc," Jack assured her as he settled into a chair.

Sam fetched another chair and put it on the other side of the bed. Teal'c took up a position at the foot of the bed. Sanderson, feeling a little like he was intruding, told them that he'd come back later and left.

As if sensing that there would be another long wait, Denali curled up on the floor at the head of the bed. Blessed with the same ability that allows most felines to fall asleep quickly, he was out in a matter of seconds.

It was well into the afternoon before Daniel showed signs of awakening again. Jack was instantly on his feet, as was Denali. Their gazes fixed upon Daniel's face, they watched as his eyes blinked open.

"Hey there, Danny Boy. Welcome back," Jack greeted with a smile. "How are you feelin'?"

Daniel cleared his throat. "Um, okay, I guess, considering," he answered in a weak voice. "Where are Sam and Teal'c?"

"Janet finally made them leave and go get something to eat. I'm under orders to do the same as soon as they get back." Jack's face became serious. "You gave us all a pretty good scare, Daniel. It was really close."

Daniel thought about that for a moment. "I heard the rest of the Ur-mah-gal arrive before I passed out. Did they get the Jaffa?"

"Oh, yeah. Big time. A few must have managed to get away, though, because the ships were gone. I don't think that any more of them are going to show up for a _long_ time. Let's hope never."

"Did Maybourne and his men make it?"

"Three of Maybourne's guys are dead, and four others got injured. Unfortunately, Maybourne made it through without a scratch. Oh, and guess what? He actually said something nice about you. He said you have a lot more guts than he thought you did. Considering that he owes you his life yet again, it's the least he could say." Jack grinned. "You're a bonafide hero now, Daniel. Well, not that you weren't before. You earned that status back on the first trip to Abydos. But, now, there's a whole lot more people who know it."

Daniel shook his head in protest. "What I did doesn't make me a hero."

"It does in _my_ books and in the books of a lot of other people. You could have run back to the gate with Sanderson and been safe. You're not a soldier, Daniel, and that's what most people would expect you to do. Instead, you headed right into the thick of battle, took command of your troops, and sent them in to fight."

Daniel choked back a laugh, his hand going to his side when a warning twinge of pain reminded him of his injury. "You make me sound like some kind of general. All I did was tell Denali to call the other Ur-mah-gal. They did the rest."

"Like I said, you took command of your troops and sent them in to fight."

Daniel rolled his eyes, deciding it wasn't worth arguing about.

"Hey, Daniel," called Sam's voice. She approached the bed with a smile on her face. "How do you feel?"

"Okay. I've been worse."

"Well, considering that you've been dead twice, I can agree to that," Jack said.

"Yeah, but you don't feel pain when you're dead."

"True."

Just then, Janet came into the infirmary, heading straight to Daniel's bed when she saw that he was awake. "Ah, good. You're awake. Are you feeling better?" She took his pulse.

"Yeah."

"Good. Now, I'd like you to. . . ." Janet's eyes went to Denali, who had suddenly started rubbing his face against the top of Daniel's head and purring. Daniel tilted his head up and looked at it.

"Hey, Denali," he said in Hetaran. He reached up and scratched behind the cat's ear. "I'm all right. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

The Ur-mah-gal laid his head on the pillow beside Daniel's head and just gazed at him. The archeologist put his hand on Denali's neck and turned back to Janet, who was gaping at the cat. "What were you going to say?"

Janet blinked. "Um, oh, I was going to say—"

Daniel abruptly lifted his hand and looked at it. There was blood on it. He quickly looked at the Ur-mah-gal. "Denali, are you hurt?"

"I did notice some blood on him, but I thought it, uh, wasn't his," Sam said.

Daniel told the cat to turn to the side and examined him. "His got a deep cut in his neck." He squinted. "I think there's something in it." He looked at Janet, as did everyone else.

"What?" she said. "I'm not a veterinarian."

"Ah, come on, Doc. It's not like we have any vets on base," Jack pointed out.

Janet sighed dramatically and walked over to the cat. "It's not going to bite my head off or anything, is it?"

"He won't touch you. Don't worry," Daniel assured her. He spoke to Denali, telling him that Janet was a healer and was going to fix his wound. The cat stood patiently as the doctor examined the cut.

"Yes, you're right. There is something in the wound."

She got a pair of tweezers and very cautiously pulled out the object imbedded in the cut. It looked like a piece of dull gray metal.

"That looks like it might be a piece from a Jaffa uniform," Sam commented.

"Well, this wound needs to be cleaned, and it should be stitched," Janet said. She looked at Daniel. "Will he tolerate that?"

The archeologist nodded.

Janet cleaned the wound and injected a local anaesthetic before stitching it up.

"There you go. All fixed up," she said, patting the cat on the head. "We'll have to keep an eye out for infection." When she turned, she saw that both Jack and Sam were smiling in amusement. "What? I like animals. I just don't like them in my infirmary."

"Oh, is that what you were going to say?" Daniel asked. "I can ask Denali to leave, but he won't be very happy about it, although he is going to have to, um . . ." he gestured with his hand, "you know sooner or later."

"Daniel, I am _not_ taking your cat out for a walk," Jack said emphatically.

"Yeah, it would probably be best if he went back to Hetara." Daniel turned to Denali and talked to him for a couple of minutes. Judging by the noises the Ur-mah-gal was making, he wasn't too happy with what Daniel was telling him. Daniel stroked the cat's head and talked to him some more. The archeologist then turned to the others. "I was right. He's not happy, but I told him that it would take me quite a while to heal, and he couldn't stay here all that time. He needs to go back to Reka and his pack. If you want to take him to the gate room, Sam, he'll go with you."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes. Come on, Denali. Let's get you home."

Denali gazed at Daniel again, who murmured something to him. The Ur-mah-gal nuzzled his face, making a soft, sad sound, then turned and followed Sam out of the infirmary. Janet also left to attend to other patients.

Jack shook his head. "You know, Daniel. Pretty soon you're going to have to say goodbye to them."

Daniel sighed. "Yes, I know."

Jack could see a trace of sadness on his friend's face. "Well, maybe you can visit them from time to time."

"Yeah, maybe. I wish we knew where the Hetarans went so that we could send the Ur-mah-gal there."

"Could it be somewhere in their records?"

"It's possible." An expression of excitement filled Daniel's face. "As soon as I get out of here, I'll have to go back to Hetara and do a search of the records in the educational center."

"Yeah, well, even if the general does approve a return trip to Hetara, it's going to be a while before you're strong enough to go." He could see that his friend's eyelids were growing heavy. "In fact, it looks like you could use some more sleep. Get some rest, Daniel. I'll see you later."

"Thanks, Jack," Daniel mumbled as his eyes closed, and he slipped into sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Daniel slept most of the rest of the day. The next morning, he received a visit from Gary Sanderson.

"Hey, how are you doing, Daniel?" the lieutenant asked. "You sure look a lot better than you did before."

"I feel better. Of course, I'll be happy to get out of here."

"I hear you. Spending time in the infirmary is no fun."

Daniel smiled. "So, I see that you're still alive. I guess Jack didn't kill you after all."

"That's because Sanderson here decided that he wanted to play hero, too," said Jack, who had just arrived.

Daniel's brow knit. "What do you mean?"

"He almost refused a direct order and went after you after telling us through the MALP what was going on. And here I thought that I was the only military person on base who'd argue with Hammond like that."

Sanderson flushed guiltily. "Sorry, sir. I was just worried about Daniel."

"Hey, I have no problem with it, Sanderson," Jack assured him. "Though I'm glad that you obeyed Hammond in the end and came through the gate. I doubt you could have helped very much by yourself, and you might have gotten yourself killed."

Gary nodded. "You're probably right, sir. It would have been foolish of me to go rushing off without reinforcements."

Jack patted him on the shoulder. "Well, what's important to me is that you were willing to do it to help Daniel. You've got guts, Sanderson."

Embarrassed, the young man decided to change the subject. He turned to the archeologist. "I thought you'd like to know that I decided to do some home studying in archeology. I'm focusing on Egyptology in particular. You really got me interested in it on Hetara. If I can work it out with the military, I might even take some classes."

Daniel smiled in delight. "That's great, Gary. It'll be a big asset to the program."

The three men chatted for a while, then Gary left, saying that he'd stop by later.

"He's a good man, Jack," Daniel said quietly after the lieutenant was gone.

The colonel nodded. "Yes, he is. I'm afraid that I didn't cut him much slack while he was on SG-1." He looked at Daniel. "He wasn't the person I wanted on my team. But he is a good man. He's going to be on Ferretti's team after Johnson leaves next month. Lou will take good care of him."

"Good. I think he could make a pretty decent archeologist. There's no doubt that we need as many as we can get."

"_That's_ for sure. You should have seen the state that the Archeology Department was in during those weeks you were gone, not to mention the Linguistics Department. All the SG team leaders were whining about how their requests for translations were taking so long to be done." Jack grinned. "Ferretti couldn't resist saying a thing or two to the Marines who had shown less than the proper attitude about your value to the program in the past. Of course, some of those Marines have _definitely_ changed their tune now – and they're not the only ones."

Daniel frowned in puzzlement. "Why?"

"Why? Daniel, you risked your life to save a bunch of people you have every reason to dislike, including a man you have an excellent reason to hate. That's had an impact on some of those jackasses who questioned your loyalty to Earth. A lot of people also know how you kept Maybourne from being killed by that Ur-mah-gal even after he attacked you."

"How did they find out about that?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, a little birdie told them."

Daniel looked at him closely. "You?"

"I told Hammond, and he did the rest. He knows that you were upset about people questioning your loyalty and has been singing your praises pretty loudly to the naysayers."

"I'll have to thank him for that."

Jack nodded. "Yes, you will."

Daniel shook his head. "I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal out of this. I only did what I had to."

"No, you didn't, Daniel. Nobody ordered you to go back into the city, and nobody would have expected you to do that. But you know what? It didn't surprise me one little bit that you did."

Realizing that Jack had just paid him a very high compliment, Daniel met his eyes and saw pride there. The pride was quickly replaced by a stern expression.

"However, I don't _ever_ want you to do anything like that again. You got it?"

"I'll keep it in mind, Jack," Daniel replied.

"You do that. I think I got a dozen new grey hairs this time around."

* * *

A few days passed before Janet finally allowed Daniel to leave the infirmary, despite his constant, daily insistence that he was well enough to be out of there. She was adamant that he was to stay on base for the next several days, however, and that he was to take it easy and not work all night. Jack, Sam and Teal'c made sure that Daniel followed the doctor's instructions about work, dragging him away from his office whenever they caught him working late into the evening. It was more than a little irritating for the archeologist, but he appreciated the fact that his teammates cared about him.

The weeks that followed allowed Daniel to catch up on the massive pile of unfinished translations and archeological work that had amassed in his absence, which made everyone very happy. Daniel, however, was eager for the day that Janet cleared him for full active duty so that he could return to Hetara. He had already expressed his wish to go back there to General Hammond, who said that he'd think about it. The general was concerned about the possibility of the Goa'uld coming back, but Daniel had assured him that, after what happened, it wasn't likely that the Gou'ald would try again for quite some time.

Finally, the day came that Janet declared Daniel fully healed and fit for duty. He immediately went to find Jack.

"I'm cleared for duty, Jack," he announced.

"That's good, Daniel." He studied his friend's face. "And I assume that you're now going to start insisting that we return to that planet."

"Yes, I am. I want to search the records for any mention of where the Hetarans went."

"Daniel, I know that you want to do this so that the Ur-mah-gal can be reunited with the Hetarans, but what if the Hetarans don't want them? They might have so many already that they couldn't take anymore."

"Well, then at least I will have tried. Besides, the Hetarans are obviously technologically advanced. Maybe they'd be willing to do a little trading."

"Yeah, right. Fat chance on that. I'm sure that they'll think we're too primitive, just like the Nox and the Tollans do."

"Yes, you may be right about that, but there's still all the stuff that's left on Hetara. Maybourne's people can't go back and get it unless I'm there."

"You're right about that. Frankly, I'm surprised that Maybourne hasn't bitched about the delay. But then, I'm even more surprised about what he did."

Daniel knew that Jack was talking about the fact that the NID man had actually said some positive things about Daniel to a few people in Washington, those who still had reservations about the archeologist's loyalties. Maybourne hadn't said much, but the little bit that he did say changed a few minds. Jack, of course, figured it was the least Maybourne could do considering that he owed Daniel his life twice over, but it was still a big surprise. He hadn't pegged Maybourne as the kind of man who would pay back a debt he owed to someone.

With Jack at his side, Daniel again approached Hammond about going back to Hetara, repeating all the reasons for the trip.

Hammond was silent for a long moment, then gave a short nod. "All right, Doctor Jackson. You have a go to return to Hetara."

Daniel smiled brightly. "Thank you, sir."

"I'll contact Colonel Maybourne and let him know that you are returning to the planet." The general turned to Jack. "What day do you want to schedule the mission for, Colonel?"

"Tomorrow morning, if that's all right, sir."

"That will be fine. Dismissed."

The next morning, Daniel and the rest of SG-1 stood in the control room as the gate dialed up. Maybourne's people would not be going through until the next day. This time, Maybourne would not be with them. He'd made the excuse that he had other business to attend to, but Jack had to wonder if the real reason was that he didn't want to be in the position of having to personally thank Daniel for saving his life and the lives of his men.

The MALP that was still on the planet was used to check for the presence of Jaffa. None were spotted in the vicinity of the gate, so a green light was given for SG-1 to go through.

Seconds after stepping out of the Stargate, they all heard a short cry in the distance. They turned toward the sound and saw an Ur-mal-gal barreling toward them at full speed. Jack, Sam and Teal'c immediately raised their weapons, whereas Daniel just smiled. Despite Jack's warning, he stepped toward the approaching cat.

The Ur-mah-gal was about forty feet away when it slowed to a quick, loping gait.

"Denali," Daniel said, his smile growing.

With a happy cry, Denali bounded up to Daniel and began rubbing up against him, almost knocking the archeologist over with his enthusiasm.

"Hey, I missed you, too, Denali," Daniel murmured in Hetaran, stroking the cat.

A couple of minutes passed before Denali calmed down. With him fairly glued to Daniel's side, SG-1 headed for the city. Once they got there, Daniel was happily greeted by every other Ur-mah-gal that saw him. A few also greeted Sam, which pleased her quite a bit.

"You know, it's a real shame that we don't get this kind of greeting from the natives on all the planets we visit," Jack commented. "It sure would make life easier."

As soon as the greetings were concluded, Daniel went to the educational center, Jack accompanying him. Sam and Teal'c remained on guard on the outskirts of the city.

Daniel began searching through the information stored on the educational center's computer. It didn't take all that long before he found something.

"Jack? I've got something," he called.

Jack came into the building and went to the linguist's side.

"Okay, according to this, the Hetarans searched for a while before they found a planet that would work for them. It sounds like they ran into some of the same problems we do, unfriendly natives, nasty environments, dangerous animals. Fortunately, they managed to avoid tangling with any Goa'uld. It took a few months to find an uninhabited world with a good climate. By then, the weather was starting to get bad, so they decided that they'd have to wait for spring since they knew that it would take several months to move the entire population and all of their belongings, and there was no way they could do it through the winter. They set up a huge work force on the new planet to begin building cities and other things they'd need. By the time the long winter was over, quite a bit had been accomplished. As soon as the weather was warm enough, the Hetarans began their move."

"Is there a gate address for where they went?"

Daniel searched the record until reaching the end. "No," he said, his voice heavy with disappointment. "They probably didn't record the address in case the Goa'uld returned and accessed these records."

"Then that's it, huh? We have no way of knowing where they went."

Daniel leaned against the console, a dejected slump to his shoulders. "What I don't understand is why they left all this here. Why didn't they take these records with them? The only thing I can figure is that they left it here just in case someone else discovered the city. Maybe they left it behind as a historical record of their race to be read by people who came to this world in the future." He sighed. "But this doesn't help me find out where they went."

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I know that you really wanted to find them. Hey, who knows. Maybe, someday, we'll run across them. Stranger things have happened."

"Yeah, maybe." Daniel knew that, with all the thousands of Stargates out there in the galaxy, it could be many years before an SG team stumbled upon the Hetarans.

The following day, Maybourne's people arrived. Unlike Maybourne, the other men who had survived the Jaffa attack had no problem with thanking Daniel for saving their lives.

The next couple of days passed uneventfully. None of Maybourne's people even once made an issue about not being able to retrieve a piece of technology because of Daniel's rules about not damaging structure or artifacts. In fact, they were far more polite and agreeable than they were before the attack. Whether it was because of the scare they'd received or because they felt they owed Daniel a favor was something that the archeologist didn't know. Nor did he care. He was just happy that things were going more smoothly.

Daniel spent most of his time in the educational center, going through the records. Sam had figured out a way to transfer the data onto a laptop computer, and the linguist was busily filling up portable hard drives. There was a lot of information to be downloaded, thousands of years of history. Daniel soon learned that that's all the computer in the educational center contained. There was no other information. This led Daniel to believe that he was right about the reason for the computer being left there. Its purpose was to teach any visitors to Hetara the history of its people, perhaps mainly to show how they had managed to defeat the Goa'uld and become a strong, technologically advanced people.

Daniel was going back through the account of the Hetarans' final months on the planet when his attention was caught by an odd phrase.

"May the Ur-mah-gal we leave as guardians of this world be the guides to those of good heart. In their memories we entrust our past and our future."

As Daniel stared at the words, the meaning suddenly came to him, and he grabbed his radio.

"Jack, come in. It's Daniel."

"Yes, Daniel. What's up?" the colonel answered after a few seconds.

"Could you come to the educational center?"

"On my way. Be there in five."

Five minutes later, Jack arrived.

"Jack, I think we may be able to find the Hetarans," Daniel told him.

"How?"

"Well, I was reading over the account of their emigration from this planet, and I found something." He read aloud the passage that had caught his attention.

Jack frowned. "Yeah. Okay."

"Jack, I think what that's saying is that we can find out from the Ur-mah-gal where the Hetarans went. Think about it. The Ur-mah-gal have genetic memory, so if they were told to remember something, that knowledge would keep getting passed down from generation to generation. Since they were trained to kill Jaffa and Goa'uld, there would be no danger of any Goa'uld getting hold of information from them. In fact, only someone who befriended them would be able to gain their trust enough that they'd pass on any message from the Hetarans. The Hetarans could rest assured that the wrong kind of people wouldn't find out where they'd gone."

"Okay, let's say you're right. How could they tell anyone where the Hetarans went? They can't talk."

Daniel thought about it for all of two seconds. Then his eyes lit up. "Of course!"

"Of course what?"

"Come on, Jack. We need to go to the gate."

Daniel, Jack, Sam and Teal'c journeyed to the gate, accompanied by Denali. When they got there, Daniel led the cat up to the DHD.

"Denali, do you remember the Hetarans, the people who lived here long ago?" Daniel asked the cat. He was able to tell by the Ur-mah-gal's movements and sounds that the cat was answering yes. "Do you remember when they left?" Again, the cat answered yes. "Denali, look at this." He pointed to the DHD. "Do you remember what symbols the Hetarans pushed to get to the world they moved to?"

Denali studied the DHD closely. He then looked up at Daniel and indicated that he did remember. Excitedly, Daniel said, "Denali, I need you to tell me which symbols they pushed and in what order. Will you do that?"

Denali gazed at him for a long moment, then he rubbed his head against Daniel's chest, purring. The archeologist smiled. "I'd say that was a yes."

Slowly, Daniel got the gate address from Denali by pointing at the glyphs one by one until the cat indicated that it was the right one, doing this every time until he had all the glyphs in the correct order.

Daniel looked down at the piece of paper upon which he'd recorded the address. "Well, that should be it, guys, the address to where the Hetarans went."

"Okay, as soon as we get back to the SGC, we'll look the address up on the computer," Jack told him. "Then, if Hammond gives us permission, we'll send a MALP through to check things out."

"Sir, it would be a good idea if we gave the address to the SGC right away," Sam said. "If that planet is one that the computer hasn't calculated the correct coordinates to yet, it will take a few days for it to do so."

"Good thinking, Carter. We'll send them right over. And while the computer is working away on that, we'll finish things up here. If we do manage to make contact with the Hetarans, I don't want to take the chance that they'll decide they don't want us taking any more stuff from here. Once we've got the stuff in our possession, there's not much they can do about it."

"Jack, if the Hetarans lay claim to all the things we took, we need to give them back."

Jack raised a finger. "Ah! I don't want to hear that, Daniel. Finders keepers, losers weepers. They left the stuff behind, and we found it. As far as I'm concerned, it belongs to us. Haven't you ever heard of salvage rights?"

"This isn't a ship abandoned at sea, Jack."

"Doesn't matter. We're not giving it up. In fact, I don't want you saying anything to them about the stuff we took. They don't need to know."

Daniel sighed, admitting that the man did have a point. The Hetarans did leave the stuff behind, so it was only fair that anyone who found it should get to keep it. "All right, Jack. I won't say anything."

The colonel gave him a smile. "Good. Now that that's all settled, let's get back to work, people."

* * *

It was another week before Maybourne's people were satisfied that they they'd gotten everything they could get. Everyone packed up and returned to the SGC. Upon learning that the coordinates for the planet had been calculated, Daniel wanted a MALP to be sent through right away, but, since it was getting late in the day, Jack insisted that it would wait till morning.

The following morning, SG-1 stood in the control room and watched the camera image being broadcast from the MALP that had been sent through. Off in the distance, something that looked like a city could be seen.

"Well, that definitely looks like signs of habitation," Jack remarked, "though you can't tell at this distance if anyone's home." He turned to Hammond. "So, sir. Do we have your permission to check that place out?"

The general nodded. "Permission granted, Colonel."

"Whoa, wait guys," Daniel said, his eyes never having left the video feed. "Tell the MALP to stop." The technician did so. "Okay, you see that pole there on the screen? Have the MALP pan the camera up to the top."

As the MALP obeyed the command given to it, the members of SG-1 all saw something that looked rather familiar to them.

"Crap," Jack muttered.

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "You can bet that, if it's triggered, it will generate a force field completely around the Stargate, trapping any unwanted visitors inside. It might even disable the gate so that whomever is trapped can't escape back through." He looked at Teal'c. "I'm sorry, Teal'c, but you're not going to be able to go. That thing will detect your symbiote."

"What if it's rigged to go off if _anyone_ steps through the gate, regardless of whether or not they have a snake in them?" Jack asked. "We don't know how paranoid these people became."

"It wasn't triggered by the MALP going through."

"Yes, but that could just mean that it will only activate the shield if it detects an organic lifeform coming through the gate," Sam pointed out.

"Then what are we going to do, just give up?" Daniel asked, clearly upset at the prospect. "Guys, we've gone into situations more potentially dangerous than this. It never stopped us before."

Sam gave a little shrug and looked at the colonel. "He is right about that, sir."

Jack looked at the SGC commander. "General?"

"It's your call, Colonel," Hammond responded.

Jack thought about it, weighing the danger against the possible benefits. "Let's do it," he finally said. He was rewarded by a grateful smile from Daniel.

"Thanks, Jack," the archeologist said.

A short while later, SG-1 was in the gate room. Teal'c, very unhappy that he would not be accompanying them, was frowning severely. Not that he usually didn't, it was just a lot more severe than normal.

"I am greatly disturbed that I cannot accompany you, O'Neill," he stated.

"Yeah, we're going to miss you, too, Teal'c. If we meet the Hetarans and they're friendly, we'll explain about you and ask them to let you come through."

The establishment of the wormhole put a stop to any further conversation.

"Okay, kids. I'll go through first," Jack said. "If everything is okay, I'll give the all clear. Got it?"

Daniel and Sam indicated that they understood.

Jack went through the wormhole. As he came out the other side, he was half expecting a loud alarm to sound, followed by a force field snapping up around him. When nothing happened, he relaxed and walked up to the MALP. Looking in the camera he said, "Everything's fine, General. Send Daniel and Carter on through."

A few seconds later, he was joined by his teammates.

"Apparently, this one is also set to go off only if it detects a symbiote," Daniel commented.

"Either that or it's no longer working," Sam said.

"So, shall we go check out that city?" Jack asked.

They headed toward the distant structures. They were only about three hundred feet from the gate when a group of armed men came rushing out of the forest to SG-1's right. Sam and Jack immediately raised their weapons.

"Jack, don't!" Daniel cried. "Let me talk to them." He turned to the men, who were now standing a few yards away, their gun-like weapons aimed at SG-1. In Hetaran, he said, "Please. We mean you no harm. We are not your enemies."

Obviously startled that Daniel knew their language, they stared at him.

"Who are you? From where do you come?" one of them asked.

"My name is Daniel Jackson. This is Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter. We come from a world called Earth."

"Why have you come here?" another man asked.

"For many reasons, one of which is that we have been to Hetara, to the world you came from years ago, and we wanted to meet you."

This statement sent a shockwave through the men, who began muttering amongst themselves. After a moment, they turned back to Daniel.

"You have been to Hetara?" the first man who had spoken asked.

"Yes," Daniel confirmed. He paused. "And the guardians are still there."

All of the men gasped. "The Ur-mah-gal yet live?"

The archeologist nodded. "And thrive, at least as well as they can given the severe winters."

The men muttered amongst themselves some more. When they turned back this time, they lowered their weapons.

"Please. You must come with us," said the one who had done most of the talking. He gestured toward the city.

Figuring that they didn't have much choice, SG-1 went with the men to the city. Everyone they passed stared at them, some with curiosity, others with fear.

Considering the technology that had been in the city on Hetara and taking into account that a hundred years had passed since the evacuation, Daniel had been expecting to see signs of a highly advanced civilization. Instead, what greeted them as they entered the city looked to be about equal to Earth technologically. Sam and Jack noticed as well, but said nothing. They all remained silent as they were led to what looked like a government building. They were ushered into a room with a large conference table. Saying that someone would see them shortly, their escorts left, shutting the door behind them.

Jack immediately tried the door and found it locked. "Crap." He turned to Daniel. "Okay, so what was all that about? What did those guys say?"

Daniel did a brief recap of the conversation. "They were apparently surprised that the Ur-mah-gal have survived in the harsh environment all these years," he concluded. "I wonder why since the Hetarans would have seen for themselves that the Ur-mah-gal and other wildlife were adapting to the climactic changes."

"Who knows?" Jack said. "What I'm more interested in is why this place isn't more high-tech than it is. Considering what's on Hetara, I was expecting a lot more than we're seeing here."

"Perhaps they prefer not to flaunt their technology," Sam suggested.

Daniel nodded. "That is possible. Look at certain regions on Earth. They have access to all the latest technology, yet you'd never guess it by looking at the houses they live in."

"Soooo, these guys prefer the simple lifestyle?" Jack asked.

"Well, I'd hardly call it simple, Jack," Daniel objected. "By Earth standards, this is a modern city, though definitely not as modern as I was expecting."

Their speculations were halted by the arrival of a group of three men and one woman.

"Which of you speaks our language?" a tall, thin grey-haired man said.

"That would be me," Daniel replied.

The man pointed to himself. "I am Gilmesh." He pointed at his companions one by one. "This is Urah, Sira, and Barbon."

"I am pleased to meet you. My name is Daniel Jackson."

"Daniel?" the man named Urah asked, frowning. "That is a very old name in our history."

The archeologist nodded. "Yes, it is. It is Hebrew in origin, a name used among the Israelites, also called the Jews."

The Hetarans stared at Daniel in utter shock.

"How can you know of such things?" Gilmesh asked.

Daniel looked at all of them. "Because we are from the first world, the world that your original ancestors came from."

Several exclamations arose at Daniel's revelation.

"You are from our original homeworld?" Gilmesh asked, clearly stunned.

"Yes, we are. I am familiar with your people's origins, the ancient civilization of Sumer. We know that, thousands of years ago, your ancestors were taken from Earth by creatures called the Goa'uld and brought to Hetara to act as slaves."

The Hetarans stared at Daniel in amazement.

"We no longer dared to hope that a day would come when we would meet people from our first homeworld," said Sira, the lone woman in the group. She looked at Daniel closely. "But how is it that you speak our language? It is not the same as the old tongue of Sumerian."

"We have the records you left behind in the city on Hetara to thank for that, the audio and video recordings. They were invaluable in learning your language."

"Then you really have been to Hetara?" Urah asked.

Daniel nodded. "Yes. I spent two weeks there before I was joined by others from my planet. We have spent another three weeks there since then."

"And the Ur-mah-gal are still there?"

"Yes, they are. When I was alone on the planet, I lived among them and became their friend."

The Hetarans looked at each other.

"We did not know if they would still be alive," Barbon told Daniel.

"Why? I mean, according to the records I found, you lived on Hetara for several years after the planet's orbit shifted. You would have seen how the Ur-mah-gal and some of the other native animals were adapting to the climatic changes."

"After we left Hetara, our scientists continued studying what happened and came to the conclusion that there was a strong chance that the planet's orbit would shift again, making it uninhabitable," Sira explained.

"Oh. Well, that did not happen, at least not yet. There is quite a population of Ur-mah-gal on the planet, from what I could tell."

"And do they still remember us?" Gilmesh asked, a note of hope in his voice.

"Yes, they still have the memory of your people, passed down through the generations. It was one of them that showed me the symbols for this world so that we could come here."

The Hetarans studied him intently. "Then you must, indeed, have become their friend, for the Ur-mah-gal were told only to give that secret to someone they trusted, someone they knew would bring us no harm."

"Yes, I am their friend and they are mine."

Smiles spread over the faces of the Hetarans. Gilmesh stepped forward and laid his hands on Daniel's shoulders. "Then you and your companions are welcomed to New Hetara as friends and brothers." 


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

"Come. Let us sit," Gilmesh said, gesturing toward the table.

As they went to the table, Jack grabbed Daniel's arm. "So, what's going on?" he asked in a low voice.

"Oh, um, basically, we made introductions, and I told them that we were from their original homeworld. That took them by surprise. Then we talked about the Ur-mah-gal. The important thing is that they've welcomed us as friends."

"Well, that's good. You just keep right on making friends with them, and maybe they'll be happy to do some trading."

Everyone settled into chairs, SG-1 on one side of the table, the Hetarans on the other.

"What is this language that you speak with your companions?" Urah asked Daniel.

"It is called English. I was hoping that, when we arrived, we would all be able to understand each other. You see the Stargate, the Chaapa'ai, has a device in it that acts as a kind of translator, temporarily enabling those who travel through it and anyone in its general vicinity to instantly understand the languages that they hear. We have never been able to figure out how it works. The problem is that, sometimes, it does not work. In fact, with certain languages, it never works, like with the language of the Goa'uld. I guess this is one of those times that it did not work since Jack and Sam cannot understand you."

"We have a translating device that may work," Sira told him. She pressed a button on a panel in the middle of the table and told the person who answered her summons to bring a translator. A moment later, one was brought in and set on the table. Sira activated it.

"Can all of you understand me now?" she asked, looking at Jack and Sam, who both smiled.

"Hey, that's cool," Jack said, looking at the translator.

"It certainly is," Sam agreed, her eyes bright with excitement over finding new technology. "I'd love to know how it works."

"We can speak of such things later," Gilmesh said. "Now, we are eager to know of the world of our origins and Hetara."

"Well, the most important thing you need to know about Earth is that the Goa'uld are no longer there," Daniel told them. "It's been hundreds of years since any of them went there. We had no idea they even existed until less than two years ago."

"Did they return to Earth then?" Barbon asked.

"No, not then. You see, when humans rebelled against the Goa'uld, the Stargate on Earth was buried, and all memory of it was lost. It was not until around seventy years ago that the Stargate was found. We had no idea what it was at the time. Fifty years ago, experiments were conducted on it, and, quite by chance, they got it to work a single time, but something happened. They shut the project down, and no mention of their success was ever made. Then, around seventeen years ago, the project was started back up, and the Stargate was eventually opened again."

Daniel went on to recount their trip to Abydos and Ra's defeat, saying nothing about Sha're. He then told them about Apophis coming through to Earth, and the events that followed, again saying nothing about his wife.

"Ever since then, we have been traveling to other worlds through the Stargate," he concluded, "exploring, looking for allies, fighting the Goa'uld, and searching for technology that we can use against them."

The Hetarans were silent for a moment.

"This is an amazing story that you have told us," Gilmesh said. "We admire your courage in traveling to other worlds and continuing to fight the Goa'uld. After our ancestors defeated Duamutef, they only sought to never again see his kind or that of his servants, the Jaffa. The Stargate was buried for centuries before the people decided it was safe to unbury."

"Yes, I know," Daniel said. "I found that out from you historical records."

"Since then, we have wanted nothing more to do with the Goa'uld. It has been a constant fear that a day would come when they would find us and enslave us again."

"But what about the Ur-mah-gal?" Jack asked. "Some Jaffa came to Hetara a few weeks ago, and we saw what the Ur-mah-gal could do. We also saw some of the stuff that you guys made to protect yourselves against the Goa'uld, like that Goa'uld detector you have by the Stargate. I should think that, if some Goa'uld showed up here, you'd be able to take care of them."

The Hetarans again glanced at each other.

"Many things have happened in the years that passed since we came to this new world," Gilmesh said, a note of sorrow in his voice. "A mere two years after our arrival, a nearby volcano erupted. At that time, most of our people were living close together, well within the path of the volcano's destructive force. The move to spread further across the continent had not yet begun, other cities and township only just beginning to be built. We were able to move a large portion of the population to safety in time, but a great many still perished. Our new cities and homes were destroyed in the eruption, along with virtually all of our technology and the means to rebuild it. Since then, we have sought to rebuild our civilization to the level that it was before. There were scientists among the survivors who had enough knowledge to help the process along, but it will still be many years before we are at the level technologically that we were before the catastrophe."

"Well, that translator thing is pretty sophisticated," Jack said.

"It is among the few things that was saved. It is also one of the things that we did not devise ourselves."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"After our ancestors drove Duamutef and his servants from Hetara, they began exploring the planet," Sira said. "A few hundred years later, the buried remains of a civilization that must have been highly advanced technologically were found. Several pieces of technology were discovered there that still worked."

Daniel leaned forward, excitement on his face. "Do you know where the ruins are?"

"No, that knowledge was lost. But it does not matter anyway. Everything usable had been stripped from the place."

Disappointed, Daniel leaned back in his seat.

"So, some of your technology was engineered from what you found in those ruins?" Sam asked.

"Yes. Some things we were able to copy, while other things we were able to adapt to our purposes. However, with many of the things we found, we were unable to copy or adapt them because they used materials that we did not have and could not manufacture. This translator is one of those things. That one sitting there is one of only three that still exist." Gilmesh turned to Jack. "As for the things you called Goa'uld detectors, the one that sits at the Stargate is the last one that still functions. It, too, was made from the technology we found in the ruins. It uses an energy source that we were unable to reproduce or replace. It is unlikely that the one at the gate will work for much longer. Then we will have no choice but to bury the Stargate to prevent the Goa'uld from coming here through it."

"Why didn't you ever go back to Hetara to retrieve the stuff you left behind there?" Daniel asked. He caught a look directed at him from Jack, one that clearly screamed, _'I told you not to talk about the stuff on Hetara.'_ Ignoring the look, Daniel continued. "I know that you believed that the orbit was going to shift again, but don't you have some kind of remote device that you could have sent through to see what the conditions were like?"

"In the eruption, the device that controls the Stargate was damaged," Sira said. "We were unable to use it."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Jack said. "Are you telling us that you can't dial out? How come you didn't tell us this before?"

"It works now," Sira explained, "but it took many years to figure out how to repair it. Ironically, we have been making plans to build a robot probe that we would send to Hetara to see what things are like there. We do not have such technology at this time since it was never something for which we had a need." She smiled. "But, now, there will be no need to send a probe through since you have told us that the world is still habitable."

"Um . . . yeah. There's, uh, something that you should probably know before you go there," Daniel said hesitantly.

"Daniel," Jack said under his breath in a warning tone of voice.

The archeologist looked at him. "Jack, they're going to find out for themselves as soon as they go to the city. Don't you think it's best that we're all honest and up front with each other?"

Jack glared at him, then heaved a big sigh. "Oh, for cryin' out loud," he muttered.

Daniel turned back to the Hetarans, who were all looking at them in confusion. "Our people took most of the technology that we found in the city near the Stargate in the hopes that some of it could be used in our fight against the Goa'uld," he explained.

"I see," Gilmesh said. "I can understand that. As we told you, our people did likewise when they found the ruins. Did you do the same with the other cities?"

"Other cities?" Jack asked, his interest peaking. He noticed the expression on Daniel's face. "Daniel, did you know that there were other cities?"

"Yes, Jack, I knew," Daniel admitted. "It was pretty clear from the records that the Hetaran civilization was quite large and had spread well beyond the area of the Stargate."

"So, why didn't you say anything?"

"Jack, you know that the NID would have wanted to check out the other cities. Would you really have wanted to spend that much time on Hetara?"

The colonel's face twisted in a grimace. "Good point."

"I do not understand," Barbon said. "Why would it have been necessary for you to personally be with those who explored the other cities?"

"Because Daniel here is the only one who can talk to those overgrown cats that you left behind," Jack replied.

"Daniel has been our liaison to the Ur-mah-gal," Sam added. "Without him, they would probably have attacked us."

Urah nodded. "That is understandable. It has been so long since any human set foot on Hetara that, if you could not communicate with them, the Ur-mah-gal might have considered you to be an enemy. When our people first encountered them, it was not a particularly friendly meeting. It took time to forge our friendship."

"Could you not have taught others to speak Hetaran?" Sira asked Daniel.

"Oh, I'm sure I could. Anyone who knew Sumerian would be able to learn Hetaran fairly quickly, but I think we got enough from that one city. I saw no reason for us to raid the other cities, too."

"Then I see no reason why you cannot keep what you found in Ur." Gilmesh said.

"Ur?" Daniel repeated with a smile. "You named the city by the Stargate after the great Sumerian city-state of Ur?"

"Yes. It seemed fitting to do so."

"So, let me get this straight," Jack said. "You're not going to ask us to give everything back?"

"No. We can just travel to some of the other cities and retrieve what we need. Besides, you are enemies of the Goa'uld. If anything you found in Ur will help you fight against them, we would not dream of taking it back from you."

Jack smiled. "Well, that's mighty generous of you. Thanks."

Gilmesh and the others inclined their heads briefly.

"What about the Ur-mah-gal?" Daniel asked.

Sira sighed. "That was another tragedy that befell us. When the volcano erupted, it spewed out a poisonous gas to which the Ur-mah-gal were especially susceptible. Those that did not die in the initial eruption became ill and died within a matter of weeks. Many Hetarans died as well from the gas."

Daniel stared at the Hetarans in shock. "Then they're all gone? There are no Ur-mah-gal left here at all?"

"None," Gilmesh confirmed sadly. "Our people have missed them greatly."

A bright smile lit Daniel's face. "Do you want them back?"

The Hetarans looked at him sharply.

"What do you mean?" Barbon asked.

"The Ur-mah-gal on Hetara miss you as much as you miss them. I think that, if you asked them, they would gladly come here to be reunited with you. In fact, that's one of the main reasons why I wanted to meet you."

An expression of excitement spread over the faces of the Hetarans.

"Do you truly think that the Ur-mah-gal would wish to come share this world with us?" Sira asked.

"Yes, I do, or at least some of them would."

"Yeah, I think they would, too," Jack said, to Daniel's surprise. "You should see how they took to Daniel. They treat him like he's one of their own. He was badly injured in the Jaffa attack, and the leader of the pack refused to leave his side until he was out of danger and could tell it to go home. And when Daniel returned to Hetara a few weeks later, he was greeted like a long lost friend by all of the Ur-mah-gal. They were all over him."

The Hetarans all looked at Daniel closely, making him feel rather uncomfortable. "You must be a special man to be befriended by the Ur-mah-gal so completely in such a short time. Though our relationship with them was one of trust and respect, few of us became as close to them as it sounds like you did."

"Well, they could sense that I wanted to be their friend, and I lived alone right in the midst of them for those weeks that I was by myself on Hetara. I made a great effort to understand their society and be accepted as a part of it."

"Why?" Urah asked. "And why were you on Hetara all alone?"

Daniel glanced at Jack and Sam. "Um, well, it's a long story that's not really important now. I study anthropology and archeology, so I have a lot of experience immersing myself in other cultures. This was not the first time that I've 'gone native' and become a part of a culture that was not my own." He couldn't help but think about Abydos and the time he spent there.

"What Daniel here, being the modest guy he is, isn't telling you is that he became the Ur-mah-gal's leader," Jack said with a grin. "They'd do whatever he told them to."

"Jack," Daniel said, feeling even more embarrassed. "That really isn't true."

"Well, it sure looked that way to me," Jack insisted.

"Me too," Sam said, thinking that Daniel looked so cute when he was embarrassed by a compliment.

Gilmesh smiled broadly. "Well, then we would be honored and grateful if you would be our ambassador to the Ur-mah-gal, Daniel, and help us reforge our relationship with them."

"I'd be happy to, Gilmesh," Daniel quickly responded, delighted that things were turning out the way they were.

The Hetarans asked for some more information about Earth and its people, curious about how things had changed since their ancestors were taken from their homeworld. By the time the questions and answers ended, it was late in the afternoon there. SG-1 was invited by Gilmesh to come to his home for dinner and to spend the night.

It turned out that Gilmesh was the highest authority in the city and a member of New Hetara's ruling body. With nothing more than a word from him, Daniel, Jack and Sam were fully accepted as friends by the other Hetarans. It was very nice to know that they didn't have to worry about unfriendly natives, though Jack, being the kind of guy he was, never fully relaxed his guard.

After being shown where they would be spending the night, Jack and Sam were guided back to the gate for the scheduled check-in. Daniel stayed behind to talk with Gilmesh. The man led him out onto a balcony overlooking the city.

"I must admit to more than a little excitement about meeting people from our homeworld," the Hetaran said. "It is not something I ever thought would happen. We had no way of knowing how to get back to Earth. If we had known, we may have chosen to go home after Duamutef was driven away, though, from what you have told us, that would not have been possible."

"No, it would not. The Stargate would have been buried by then."

"From things that were said earlier, I got the impression that you personally had something to do with the Stargate being reactivated."

"Um, yeah, I am the one who figured out how it worked. I am also the one who found a map room filled with Stargate addresses. It was because of that map room that we have been able to find the worlds that we have. We are really only barely getting started, though. There are thousands of worlds with Stargates all across the galaxy. It will take many decades to explore them all."

Gilmesh smiled faintly. "We are not so brave or adventurous as you. We had no thought of exploring other worlds."

"May I ask why your people unburied the gate on Hetara if you were not going to use it?"

"There were those among our people who had hoped that, somehow, people from our homeworld would find us and take us home. Once we had the devices your friend Jack called Goa'uld detectors, we felt safe in opening the Stargate since no Goa'uld would be able to step though the Stargate without activating the one that was set up there."

"So, you did have one at the gate. I figured that you probably did. It is a good thing that it was not still there and active when Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Gary came to Hetara."

"Why is this?"

"Teal'c is a Jaffa who rebelled against the Goa'uld and has been fighting with us against them."

Gilmesh's eyes widened. "A Jaffa defied the Goa'uld?"

"Yes. Teal'c is a good man. He hopes that, one day, all Jaffa will be free from the Goa'uld."

Gilmesh shook his head. "I did not think that such a thing was possible. Accounts passed down from those who lived during Duamutef's reign said that the Jaffa were brutal and followed the commands of Duamutef without question."

"Well, unfortunately, a lot of Jaffa are like that. We have had to kill quite a few of them. But Teal'c and his mentor, Bra'tac, say that there are a lot more out there who long for freedom. The Jaffa have no choice but to do the bidding of the Goa'uld until things change."

"And that is your goal, to change things?"

"Yes. We have to. Earth will not be safe until the Goa'uld are gone."

"Again, I admire your people's courage and determination."

"Well, I admire the way your people joined forces with the Ur-mah-gal and rose up against Duamutef. That took a lot of courage, too."

Gilmesh smiled. "Yes, it was a great moment in our history, a great triumph. We have only partial records of our history on Hetara and before. Only what people managed to take with them when we fled from the volcano's eruption has survived. Virtually all records of our history would have been lost if it had not been for the man who was the keeper of the main library. He managed to save much, though it nearly cost him his life."

"Well, then you will be happy to know that the historical records on Hetara seem to be completely intact. I spent days going through them."

"It is still there on Hetara? I thought that your people took everything."

"I would not let them touch that. I was insistent that it remain on Hetara as a record of the people who lived there. We have managed to copy all of the records for later study."

"Are you, then, someone with authority among your people? I got the impression that Jack O'Neill was your superior."

"He is, and, no, I do not have any authority on Earth, except for being in charge of the archeology and linguistic departments at the SGC. I, um, well . . . used my relationship with the Ur-mah-gal to keep everyone from taking things that I wanted to be left alone."

Gilmesh chuckled. "I see. It sounds like Jack was right about your influence with the Ur-mah-gal."

Daniel shrugged. "Maybe it was because I was the first human being these Ur-mah-gal had ever seen and because I could speak Hetaran. I think that, in their minds, I _was_ Hetaran."

"But, Daniel, we were not masters of the Ur-mah-gal. They would not do our bidding whenever we desired it. They chose to be our allies and our friends. There was give and take on both sides of the relationship."

Daniel gave a nod. "I kind of got that impression from what I saw in your records. I do not think the Ur-mah-gal would have done anything I asked them to. I really did not ask them to do much, just to not harm any humans and not allow anyone to break the, um, rules that I laid down when everyone came to start taking the technological things."

"All the same, it sounds like you developed a special and unique relationship with them."

"Yeah. To be honest, I am going to miss them, especially Denali. He is the leader of the pack that I lived with. He and his mate kind of made me a part of their family."

"You cannot take them to Earth?"

"No. You see, the Stargate is unknown to most people there. They have no idea that the Goa'uld exist or that we are traveling to other planets. There would be no way that any Ur-mah-gal could stay on Earth. Even if my government would allow it, they would have to remain virtual prisoners to prevent others from finding out about them."

"And you would be unable to visit them if they stayed on Hetara?"

"I am afraid so. It would not be possible for me to pop over to Hetara whenever I felt like visiting. If I had not learned the gate address for this planet, I would have said goodbye to the Ur-mah-gal for the last time a couple of days ago."

Gilmesh studied Daniel's face. "Is this why you sought to reunite the Ur-mah-gal with us? You do not wish to leave them alone on Hetara?"

"Yes, it is. What I said before was true. I really think that the Ur-mah-gal miss the Hetarans. It is clear that you and they had a wonderful relationship. I want to see that happen again."

"As would we, Daniel. As would we."

"Gilmesh, why did your people leave those historical records on Hetara? Was it just in case someone other than the Goa'uld came to the planet?"

"Not just _any_ someone, Daniel. You."

Daniel's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Me?"

Gilmesh smiled. "Not you personally. Your people, people from our homeworld. Even then, after so many millennia, there were those among the Hetarans who hoped that people from Earth would find out where we were taken and seek us out. We left the records there for them to read."

"Along with a clue on how they could find out where you went."

"Yes. We kept the address to our new home out of the records in case the Goa'uld returned and read them." Gilmesh shook his head. "I never believed that people from the homeworld would find us, not after so long." He smiled again and clasped Daniel's hands. "But here you are, and I could not be happier. We have at last been reunited."

* * *

After Jack and Sam returned, they and Daniel enjoyed a pleasant meal with Gilmesh and his wife, then retired to guest quarters.

"So, I'd say this mission is turning out all right," Jack said, "though there are going to be a lot of disappointed people when we don't come back with any high-tech goodies."

"There is still a chance that the Hetarans may have some technology that would be of value to us and that we could trade for, sir," Sam said. "It's a shame that they can't reproduce those translators. Something like that would be great for SG teams to carry. I suppose it's possible that we could reproduce them using materials found on Earth, but I have my doubts that they'd let us take one apart to see how it works since they only have three left."

"Yeah, and I was hoping we'd be able to learn how to make more of those Goa'uld detector thingies."

"Well, we do have the ones from Hetara. There is a chance that we'll figure out how to make them work."

Jack turned to Daniel. "You're looking pretty pleased about everything, Daniel."

"Yes, I am. I came here in the hopes that the Ur-mah-gal could be reunited with the Hetarans, and that's what's going to happen. Gilmesh wants to go to Hetara tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Well, they're certainly not wasting any time," Jack said.

"I'm surprised that Gilmesh wants to go himself," Sam commented. "He's a pretty important man around here."

"Yes, but he feels that, as a leader among his people, it should be his duty to extend the hand of friendship to the Ur-mah-gal. Besides, I think he's excited about going. His grandparents used to talk about Hetara, the Ur-mah-gal, and the way things were back then. I only read a portion of the records about that time, so I didn't know the whole story. A lot of people died because of the shift in the planet's orbit." He shook his head sadly. "And then they come here, and another natural disaster wipes out more of them."

"Yeah, talk about a string of bad luck," Jack murmured.

"Daniel, I'm confused about one thing," Sam said. "I'm no expert in volcanic eruptions, but if there was an eruption that big in this area only a hundred years ago, wouldn't the evidence still be visible?"

"Yes. The volcano is on the other side of the range of mountains to the north. There is a narrow canyon between this valley and the one on the other side. The Hetaran's were living in that other valley. They wanted some space between them and the Stargate in the event that the Goa'uld did come through and managed to get past the force field. The canyon was easily defendable and would make it very hard for the Goa'uld to reach the Hetarans. If you went through that canyon now, you'd see a virtual wasteland on the other side. Some trees have regrown, but it's going to be centuries before a lot of the evidence of the eruption is covered up, and some of it never will be. The mountain range helped to shield this valley from the majority of the destruction, though molten rocks and pumice ejected by the volcano still caused a lot of damage and set some fires. And, of course, there was also the ash, but the winds carried most of that in the other direction, and, thankfully, the eruption was short-lived. If it had gone on for several days, most of the Hetarans would have been wiped out since the winds would have shifted and blanketed this valley with red-hot, suffocating ash. It was in this valley that the Hetarans took shelter. After the eruption was over, most of them moved further away, beyond the mountains to the south so that they'd be out of the danger zone. This city was built to keep an eye on the Stargate and to act as a welcoming place for any friendly visitors who might come through the gate."

"Ah, sort of like a big Welcome Wagon, eh?" Jack remarked.

"Kind of."

"They weren't so friendly when we first showed up."

"Well, that's pretty understandable, don't you think?" Daniel asked. "We were the first people they'd ever seen come through the Stargate. Of course they're going to be leery of us." Daniel studied Jack's face. "So, am I going to be allowed to take Gilmesh to Hetara?"

"Well, it's fine with me, but I'll have to clear it with Hammond. I'll go back to the gate in the morning."

"Don't forget, sir. We're several hours ahead here," Sam reminded him. "It will still be night in Colorado."

"Yeah. You'll have to tell Gilmesh that he will have to wait until a bit later in the day for his trip."

"Okay."

Daniel went to bed that night filled with excitement over the reunion that would be taking place tomorrow. 


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

The next day, after Sam calculated the exact time difference between New Hetara and Earth, Jack headed to the gate when it would be around seven a.m. in Colorado, knowing that the general would be there by then. Hammond agreed to allow Daniel to accompany Gilmesh to Hetara.

"If the Hetarans can wait another day, I can have an ambassador from Earth meet them there," he said.

"Oh, I don't think that'll be necessary, sir," Jack responded. "Daniel's doing a damn fine job of playing ambassador and diplomat. He's a natural at it. The Hetarans are quite impressed with him because of the way the Ur-mah-gal took to him."

"Well, then we'll leave it in Doctor Jackson's capable hands. Keep me updated, Colonel."

"Yes, sir. I'll check back in after we return from Hetara. Um, there is one thing, General. Could you send Teal'c and a team through to Hetara? I'd sort of like to have some backup there, just in case."

"Good thinking, Colonel. I'll get a team ready right away."

As soon as Jack radioed to Daniel and gave him the green light, Daniel, Sam, Gilmesh and several other Hetarans, some of whom were representatives from other cities, trekked to the gate, meeting Jack there. They had the translator with them to make communications easier for everyone.

Daniel dialed the address. There were slight gasps from the Hetarans as the wormhole was established, none of them ever having seen the Stargate activate.

"My grandparents told me that the trip through the Stargate was both frightening and exhilarating," Gilmesh said, looking at the event horizon.

Daniel nodded. "It's toughest the first time. You may feel cold and nauseous. It's possible that you'll lose your balance. I can hold onto you, if you'd like."

Gilmesh smiled at him. "That is kind of you, but I would very much like to walk through on my own." His smile widened. "But if it appears that I am going to fall on my face, feel free to grab hold of me. I must maintain my image, you know."

Daniel grinned. "Sure. I can do that."

"Everybody ready?" Jack asked. "Let's go." He ascended the dais and went through the gate. Daniel and Gilmesh were next in line, followed by the other Hetarans, Sam taking up the rear.

As Daniel and Gilmesh exited the other side, the Hetaran stumbled slightly. Daniel immediately grabbed his arm to steady him.

"Thank you, Daniel," Gilmesh said.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad. A little nauseous and cold." Just then, the man caught sight of a group of five men standing a few yards away to the right. He stiffened in alarm when he saw that one of them was a Jaffa. Seeing the reaction, Daniel looked that way and smiled.

"It's okay, Gilmesh. That's Teal'c. Come on. I'll introduce you to him."

A bit reluctantly, the Hetaran went with Daniel to where Teal'c and SG-3 were.

"Hi, Teal'c. This is Gilmesh. He's a member of the High Council on New Hetara."

The Jaffa inclined his head. "It is an honor to meet you," he intoned. "Daniel Jackson has recounted how your people defeated Duamutef. It was a great victory against the Goa'uld."

Gilmesh gaped at Teal'c, having a hard time matching this polite, gentle-voiced man with the tales told about the Jaffa. "It . . . it is an honor to meet you as well," he finally said. "I would never have thought that my people would meet a Jaffa as a friend."

Teal'c nodded. "Yes. Such is the reaction of many. I deeply apologize for the wounds inflicted upon your people by mine. There is much for which the Jaffa must atone."

Recovering from his shock, Gilmesh nodded. Just then, a noise in the distance alerted Daniel that they were about to have company. Several Ur-mah-gal were approaching.

"What do they have, a guard watching the Stargate?" Jack muttered.

"They probably do," Daniel responded. "After all, there's been a lot of activity going on lately."

"Yeah, and it could also be that they've been waiting for you to come back."

Daniel didn't bother saying anything in reply to that. Instead, he headed for the Ur-mah-gal, going about thirty feet before stopping to wait for them.

The cats apparently caught his scent on the wind because they suddenly picked up the pace. Very quickly, they were clustered about Daniel, nearly trampling him in their eagerness to say hi. Gilmesh and the other Hetarans watched in wonder as Daniel happily greeted each Ur-mah-gal. A cry in the distance made everyone turn, and they saw another Ur-mah-gal running full speed toward them.

"Oh, boy. Here he comes," Jack murmured.

"Who?" Gilmesh asked.

"That's got to be Denali. He's sort of become a surrogate papa to Daniel. You should have seen him when Daniel got hurt. He followed us through the Stargate because he refused to be separated from Daniel." Jack grinned. "Just watch."

Bounding like a kitten, an amazing thing for a creature so huge, Denali made a beeline toward Daniel, the other cats moving out of the way. This time, the Ur-mah-gal pack leader was a little less careful and ended up knocking Daniel to the ground with the enthusiasm of his greeting. He then proceeded to nuzzle and lick Daniel's face all over.

"Denali!" the archeologist cried in protest. "Let me up." The cat pulled back a little, letting Daniel rise to his feet. Daniel hugged him around the neck and scratched behind his ears. "It's good to see you, too, Denali."

Gilmesh watched it all with amazement. "You did not exaggerate, Jack," he said. "They do love him very much."

"Yes, they do. And I know that Daniel cares a lot about them, too. It's going to be tough for him to say goodbye."

"If the Ur-mah-gal agree to come with us to New Hetara, Daniel is welcome to visit any time he wishes. The same goes for the rest of your people. We would very much like to remain friends."

"So would we, Gilmesh."

Daniel and the Ur-mah-gal came up to the others. The Hetarans, never having seen an Ur-mah-gal in the flesh, found themselves overwhelmed by the size of the cats.

"Denali, this is Gilmesh, a leader of the Hetarans," the archeologist said. "Gilmesh, this is Denali, leader of his pack."

Gilmesh stepped forward. "We are filled with joy to at last be reunited with the Ur-mah-gal after so many years," he said in Hetaran. He held out both hands close together, palms up.

Something in the gesture must have registered in the genetic memory of the Ur-mah-gal, for they got very excited, "talking" to each other. Denali then stepped up to Gilmesh and sniffed at his hands. He then let out a loud call, which the other Ur-mah-gal echoed. As the sound ceased, an answering cry could be heard way in the distance, in the direction of the city.

"Um, I think that was a big hello," Daniel said with a smile. "Come on. Let's go to Ur. I have a feeling that there's going to be a big welcoming committee waiting for you there."

Sure enough, when the SG-1 and the Hetarans arrived in the city, every Ur-mah-gal that lived there was waiting to greet them. Quite a few of them gave a personal greeting to Daniel, who introduced them to the Hetarans.

The next hour was a bit of a madhouse as the Ur-mah-gal milled about, clearly very happy about the return of the Hetarans. SG-1 stood back and watched the reunion.

"This is great," Daniel said with a smile a mile wide.

"Yes, it is," Jack agreed.

"Do you think that the Ur-mah-gal will agree to go to New Hetara?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure," Daniel replied. "I'm certain that at least some of them will. As for the whole population, I don't know. Some might decide that they'd rather stay here."

"Even with the winters as nasty as they are?" Jack asked.

"They've adapted quite well to the weather. Besides, this is their homeworld. The memories of countless generations on this planet are in their minds. It would be a tough decision to leave it."

Once the initial excitement was over, some of the Ur-mah-gal left. Daniel joined the Hetarans, who were all smiling brightly.

"Daniel, it is wonderful," Gilmesh exclaimed. "The Ur-mah-gal are just as my grandparents told me."

"Have you asked them yet about going to New Hetara?"

"No. I thought that we should wait until we were better acquainted. Do you think that some of them would like to come through the gate to see our new home, to see that there are many Hetarans there?"

"Um, I don't know. I guess I could ask." Daniel called Denali over. "Denali, Gilmesh would like to know if you and some of your fellow Ur-mah-gal would like to visit the Hetaran's new home. There are many Hetarans there who would like to meet you."

Denali appeared to think about it for a while, then he looked at Daniel and made some noises in his throat, rubbing up against him. Daniel grinned and looked at Gilmesh.

"That was a yes."

The man blinked. "You understood that?"

"I've gotten pretty good at 'reading' their language. I really do think that they are equally as intelligent as we are."

Daniel and the rest of SG-1 took the Hetarans to the educational center, where Daniel activated one of the viewers. Gilmesh and his people were delighted that they would be able to recover their lost history. Next, Daniel took everyone to the building with the holographic projector. The Hetarans were ecstatic that such a magnificent record of the battle against the Goa'uld had survived. They spoke of dismantling the building, mural and all, and setting it back up in the capital city so that everything would remain safe. Daniel was now very glad that he'd refused to let Maybourne take the projector.

The sun was low in the sky by the time everyone headed back to the gate. Six Ur-mah-gal, two individuals from each of the three packs that lived in the city, accompanied them. Denali, of course, was among them.

Not wanting to overwhelm the Hetarans with both the sight of the Ur-mah-gal and a Jaffa, Jack told Teal'c to return to Earth with SG-3.

The reaction of the Hetarans on New Hetara upon seeing the Ur-mah-gal was mixed. Some, recognizing what the cats were, became very excited, while others were fearful of their size and ferocious appearance. As for the Ur-mah-gal, they were continually communicating with each other and looking about at everything they passed.

Gilmesh, knowing that the Ur-mah-gal would probably prefer to stay outdoors, took everyone to a park with a small outdoor theater. Parents gasped when they saw the cats and hurriedly gathered up their children in case there was danger. One little boy, however, eluded his mother, and came toddling up to one of the Ur-mah-gal, totally without fear.

"Dog!" he cried happily in Hetaran and started patting the Ur-mah-gal's leg. The huge cat looked down at the tiny child for a long moment, then, as everyone held their breath, gently nuzzled the little boy. The child giggled and wrapped his arms around the Ur-mah-gal's neck as well as he could.

A smile beamed across Gilmesh's face. There was the glint of tears in his eyes. "Though I have only heard stories and read our historical accounts, I feel as if I am greeting a long lost friend," he murmured. He turned to Daniel and took his hands. "I cannot thank you enough for reuniting us with the Ur-mah-gal."

Daniel smiled happily. "You're welcome, Gilmesh. I am so happy that everything is working out."

Seeing how gentle the Ur-mah-gal was with the child, some of the other Hetarans in the park approached the cats, receiving encouragement from Gilmesh and the other men who had gone to Hetara. Soon, there was a small crowd around them, people asking excited questions, some venturing to touch the cats.

As darkness approached and the others in the park left, Gilmesh led their group to a large gazebo-like building with ivy-covered lattice walls. There, the humans all found seats. One of the Hetarans made a call on a phone-like device and requested that some food be brought to them. In a surprisingly short time, several people arrived with trays of meats, breads and cheeses for the humans and at least a couple hundred pounds of raw meat for the Ur-mah-gal.

"I hope that this is satisfactory," Gilmesh said to SG-1.

"This is just fine," Daniel assured him. "Better than fine, actually, considering that, on most missions, we have to eat MRE's."

"MRE's?"

"Meals Ready to Eat," Sam explained. "They're standard military rations."

"Yeah, and they all taste like chicken," Daniel complained.

"What is chicken?" another Hetaran asked.

"A domestic fowl raised for its eggs and meat. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against chicken. I'd just prefer it if everything I ate on a mission didn't taste like it." He took a bite from a piece of meat that looked like beef. "And this definitely doesn't," Daniel said happily.

Everyone enjoyed their meal, including the Ur-mah-gal. After they were finished, Gilmesh turned to Daniel.

"Daniel, since you are so close to the Ur-mah-gal and understand their language to some extent, would you do us the honor of being our voice?"

"Um . . . yeah, sure, I can do that. You want me to ask them about coming here to live?"

"Please."

Daniel turned to the Ur-mah-gal and called them over. The cats immediately complied and sat before him.

"As your memory tells you, there was a time when the Hetarans and the Ur-mah-gal lived together in peace and friendship on your world," Daniel said to them. "Then the weather changed, and the Hetarans had to leave to survive. With them went many Ur-mah-gal. Sadly, there was a terrible tragedy, and all of the Ur-mah-gal who came here with the Hetarans died. The Hetarans have been without the Ur-mah-gal since then, and they miss them greatly. The Hetarans now wish to extend an invitation to you. They would like you and all of the Ur-mah-gal on your world to come to this world and share it with them. They want it to be as it was a hundred years ago."

There was silence for a long moment, then the Ur-mah-gal began talking to each other. Daniel, not being that conversant in their language could not follow along, though he could tell that there was some excitement.

This went on for several minutes, then the cats fell silent and motionless. They all turned at the same moment and stared at Daniel unblinkingly, their gaze so intense that it made the archeologist a little nervous.

"Uhhhh . . . Daniel? What's going on?" Jack asked, also feeling nervous.

"I-I don't know. They've never acted like this before."

Jack reached for his weapon as Denali rose and approached Daniel, but he did not point it at the cat. The Ur-mah-gal brought its face right up to the archeologist, who, since he was sitting down, had to look up at the cat. Totally baffled, he remained still as Denali tilted his head and pressed his forehead against Daniel's. For a moment, nothing happened, then, all at once, a flood of feelings and images poured into Daniel's mind. He saw memories of the Ur-mah-gal meeting the Hetarans for the first time, those first years when peace was established between them. Flashing forward, he saw the Ur-mah-gal fighting with the Hetarans against Duamutef and his Jaffa. Then came images of the Ur-mah-gal and Hetarans living in peace with each other throughout centuries of time. More time passed and Daniel saw the Hetarans and thousands of Ur-mah-gal leaving through the Stargate, saying goodbye to their brethren forever. Lastly, Daniel saw himself from the viewpoint of the Ur-mah-gal as they looked upon him for the first time and recognized him as a friend.

Then what Daniel was experiencing changed, and what he saw were no longer memories of things in the past. It went on for a couple more minutes, then abruptly stopped. As Denali stepped back, Daniel swayed in his seat. Jack and Gilmesh both grabbed hold of him.

"Daniel? Are you okay?" the colonel asked worriedly.

"Uh . . . yeah. Yeah, I'm all right," he answered shakily. "It was just a bit overwhelming."

"What? What just happened?"

"Denali just, um, talked to me, mind to mind. I-I felt and saw . . . wow. It was incredible."

"He spoke to you telepathically?" Sam asked, stunned.

"Not with words. It was all done with images and emotions. He showed me the history of the Ur-mah-gal and Hetarans, from the time they met to the time they said goodbye."

Gilmesh was staring at him, open-mouthed. "There is no mention of anything like this ever happening with any Hetaran. No Ur-mah-gal has ever spoken like that to one of us."

"Well, maybe it was the only way they could think of to communicate what they wanted to since we can't fully understand their language. It could be that, before, they didn't want the Hetarans to know that they have this ability."

"So, other that the history lesson, what did he say . . . um, think . . . whatever?" Jack asked.

"He told me that, though there would be Ur-mah-gal who may not wish to leave their home, many others would gladly accept the Hetaran's invitation and come to this world to live."

Gilmesh and the other Hetarans smiled in delight.

"It is with great joy that we welcome all Ur-mah-gal who wish to come to this world," Gilmesh said.

Gilmesh invited the Ur-mah-gal to come to his house, telling them that they could sleep in his garden. Saying goodbye to the other Hetarans, who went off to their own accommodations in the city, SG-1 and the Ur-mah-gal went with Gilmesh to his house.

"I'm going to stay out in the garden with Denali tonight," Daniel told Jack in their room. "He and I need to, um, talk."

"Uh, okay. You want one of us to stay with you?"

"No, I'll be fine."

Getting some bedding from one of Gilmesh's servants, Daniel went out into the garden and made his way over to where the Ur-mah-gal were. He spread out the bedding beside Denali and lay down. The cat immediately curled up close to him. There was silence for a moment.

"Denali, why did you do that?" Daniel asked at last. "Why did you speak to me that way when the Ur-mah-gal have never done so with the Hetarans?"

The cat once again pressed his head against Daniel's. _'Trust,'_ came the feeling through the empathic link.

"You trusted me. Did the Ur-mah-gal not trust the Hetarans?" He felt Denali communicate that, yes, they did.

_'Love,'_ was the next feeling that came through. Daniel smiled and stroked Denali's neck.

"I feel the same way, Denali. But was there not love between the Ur-mah-gal and the Hetarans?" Again, Denali answered in the affirmative. Then came something else that Daniel couldn't understand.

"What are you trying to say?"

The feelings and images repeated, a little different this time, pictures of an Ur-mah-gal with a Hetaran, a barrier between them, then images of an Ur-mah-gal and Daniel with no barrier.

"Are you saying that there was something that prevented you from talking to the Hetarans like this, something that does not exist between us?" When Denali said yes, he asked, "What is this barrier? Can you tell me?"

More images came, and Daniel finally understood. He felt silent, thinking about what he had just learned. Denali expressed concern for him.

"I am all right, just thinking," he assured the cat. He looked up at the moon. "We should get some sleep. A lot will probably be happening tomorrow."

Resting his head against Denali's neck, Daniel closed his eyes, thoughts of what he had learned and what would be happening in the days ahead drifting away as sleep overtook him.

* * *

At breakfast the following morning, both Jack and Sam could tell that the archeologist was a little troubled about something, but did not say anything until they were alone.

"What's wrong, Daniel?" Sam asked.

"Um, I found out something from Denali last night. I asked him why he had communicated with me like that when the Ur-mah-gal never had with the Hetarans all the years that they were together."

"And?" Jack said when Daniel paused.

"He told me that it was because they couldn't. I guess they tried, but the Hetarans were unable to receive the mental communication."

"But you could," Sam said.

"Yeah. Denali said that, for some reason, the barrier does not exist with me. There's something a little different about my brain that enables them to communicate with me. Denali said that they realized this almost immediately. And I was right. They are empathic. They can sense emotions. But it turns out that, normally, they can only sense the emotions of their own kind. They never could with the Hetarans."

"But they do with you?"

"Yeah."

"What about us?" Jack asked.

Daniel shook his head. "Only me. This is why they accepted me so completely and so very quickly. They could feel my emotions and knew that I was a friend."

Jack looked at Sam. "Carter? Any explanations?"

"Um, no, not really, sir. This isn't my field of expertise. But it's possible that there is something a little different about Daniel's brain chemistry that allows the telepathic and empathic connection between him and the Ur-mah-gal. It's likely that there are other humans who'd have the same ability. They're just very rare."

"Well, that has got to be one of the biggest lucky breaks in history," Jack said, "that it turns out that Daniel is one of the few people in the whole galaxy that those cats can talk to and . . . feel. I don't want to think about what would have happened if it hadn't been that way."

"I really think I would have been fine, Jack," Daniel insisted. "I would still have been able to communicate with them in Hetaran. I probably just wouldn't have gotten as close to them as I did."

"And you might not have been able to get them to go after the Jaffa."

Daniel shook his head. "With their hatred of the Goa'uld, they'd still have gone after the Jaffa."

"Well, I'm still glad that you've got whatever it is that makes the difference."

"Me too," Daniel murmured.

A couple of hours later, Gilmesh returned with SG-1 and the Ur-mah-gal to the Stargate. SG-1 was going to go with the Ur-mah-gal to Hetara, then head on home. They would return to Hetara in three weeks. During those weeks, Denali and the others would talk to their packs and spread the news of the Hetarans' invitation to all of the other Ur-mah-gal. Denali had promised that, by the end of the three weeks, they would know how many Ur-mah-gal wished to join the Hetarans.

Gilmesh gave both SG-1 and the Ur-mah-gal a warm goodbye, telling them that he looked forward to seeing them again.

The three weeks passed quickly. The only difficulty during that time was that, when Maybourne found out that there were other cities on Hetara, he wanted to send teams back there to pick them clean. Daniel, Jack and Hammond all said no way, stating that the Hetarans had already laid claim to what was in those other cities. When Maybourne pressed the issue, Daniel said that he wouldn't act as liaison between them and the Ur-mah-gal again, so, if they went, they'd have to fend for themselves. When he pointed out that the Ur-mah-gal in those other cities would be ones that had never personally seen humans before and might consider them to be prey, Maybourne decided to be content with what they'd gotten from the city of Ur.

Three weeks to the day, SG-1 returned to Hetara.

"Holy Hannah!" Sam exclaimed as they exited the gate, her mouth falling open. Her expression was mirrored by Daniel and Jack, even Teal'c's normally impassive features showing surprise.

Hundreds upon hundreds of Ur-mah-gal were gathered all around them.

"Uhhhh . . . okaaaay. This is just a few too many of those things for me to feel comfortable," Jack stated.

"These must be all the ones who are going to go to New Hetara," Daniel said. "Wow. There must be over a thousand of them."

"Yeah, well, let's just hope that they know we're friends."

Just then, a very familiar Ur-mah-gal came up to them, greeting Daniel warmly. The archeologist returned Denali's greeting.

"Are these all the ones who have chosen to go live with the Hetarans?" he asked.

Denali indicated that they were.

"Great. The Hetarans will be pleased. But, um, there might be a problem. First of all, it may be a bit overwhelming for this many to go there all at the same time. The other problem is food. There is no way that the animal population on Hetara in and around the Stargate would be enough to feed this many Ur-mah-gal, even for a short time. We were kind of thinking that just a couple hundred could come through at a time. Also, the Hetarans were talking about coming here and capturing some of the animals that you hunt for food and taking them to New Hetara."

Denali leaned toward Daniel, indicating that he wanted to "talk" with him. Daniel touched his forehead to the cat's. After a minute or so, he pulled back with a smile.

"Oh. Okay, that is fine, then. Thank them for coming."

"What was that about?" Jack asked.

"I told him that this many coming through all at the same time would cause problems, and he let me know that all these Ur-mah-gal aren't staying. They just came to be counted in the numbers that want to go to New Hetara and to, um, say hi to us."

"To us or to you?"

"Uhhh . . . mostly me."

Jack and Sam both grinned.

"Anyway, most of them will be leaving to go back to their territories tomorrow. They already figured that the migration would take several months. In fact, some may choose to wait until next spring. It'll be a gradual migration so that moving them to their new territories won't be so difficult for the Hetarans."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jack stated. "So, how many are going through today?"

"Denali's pack is, along with several packs from other territories, about a hundred Ur-mah-gal in all."

"Do you know how many Ur-mah-gal are staying behind on Hetara?" Sam asked.

"I got the impression that there were a lot more that decided to stay than chose to leave, but that some of those who are staying might change their minds in time. I'll have to tell Gilmesh that he will need to send someone here at least once a year to find out if other Ur-mah-gal have decided to join them. I just hope that the Hetaran scientists were wrong."

"About what?" Sam asked.

"They believed that Hetara's orbit would shift again and that the planet would become uninhabitable. It would be horrible if that happened and the Ur-mah-gal who stayed behind all died."

"Well, maybe they should be warned about that danger," Jack said.

"Yeah, I guess they should. I wonder if, in case of emergency, there would be a way for the Ur-Mal-Gal to dial the gate themselves."

"I suppose we could see if they could," Sam responded. "If not, I might be able to come up with some kind of adaptor that they could use."

Wading through a sea of Ur-mah-gal, SG-1 headed toward the city. While Jack and Sam received mostly only looks of curiosity, both Daniel and Teal'c were given a far more thorough scrutiny. Most of the looks that Teal'c got were not so friendly, the Ur-mah-gal able to sense the symbiote he carried. As for Daniel, the intensity of the looks he got was a bit nerve-racking, even though they were friendly.

As they made their way through the gathering of Ur-mah-gal, Daniel became increasingly aware of something. It was faint at first, but, by the time they were about two-thirds of the way through the Ur-mah-gal, it had gotten so strong that he was feeling dizzy, his head pounding. When he swayed on his feet, Jack grabbed his arm.

"Daniel, what's wrong?" he asked, seeing the paleness of the archeologist's face.

"I . . . I can feel them, their emotions," Daniel said in a tight voice. "It's getting . . . really strong."

"It must be because there are so many," Sam reasoned.

"Are you going to be okay or do we need to go back home?" Jack asked.

"I-I don't know. If they just weren't so close I think it would be okay."

Sensing that Daniel was in trouble, Denali came up to him. The archeologist haltingly told him what the problem was. Immediately, the cat began conversing with those nearby, who quickly moved away, passing the message onto others, who also retreated. Very soon, a large area around SG-1 was cleared of Ur-mah-gal, with the exception of Denali, who worriedly stayed at Daniel's side. The archeologist gave a sigh of relief as the bombardment of emotions faded.

"Thanks, Denali," he said.

"I'd sure love to know what exactly it is about your brain that makes communication with them possible," Sam said.

"It probably has some connection to his unnerving ability to figure things out so fast that the rest of us don't even see," Jack remarked.

"Um, thanks, Jack . . . I think," Daniel said.

They made it to the city without any more problems, only Denali's pack accompanying them. There, Daniel talked with the Ur-mah-gal, telling them about the possible danger. A few from the pack left to pass on the news to others. Satisfied that all the Ur-mah-gal would eventually learn of the possible threat, Daniel changed the topic of discussion to the best way to handle things today. It was decided that he and Teal'c would remain with the Ur-mah-gal while Jack and Sam went to New Hetara to tell the people there to prepare for the arrival of a hundred Ur-mah-gal today and many more in the future. As soon as they heard from Jack, Daniel and Teal'c would take the Ur-mah-gal that were going today to the Stargate.

A couple of hours after Jack and Sam left, Daniel's and Teal'c's radios crackled to life, and Jack's voice told them to head out.

Jack and Sam were waiting for them at the gate when they arrived.

"So, what did the Hetarans say?" Daniel asked.

"They were happy that so many decided to come," Sam replied. "There's a bit of a crowd waiting to welcome the first ones through."

"Great. Shall we go, then?"

Daniel dialed the gate. As the wormhole formed, Jack gave him a smile.

"Daniel, you take point," he said.

The archeologist stared at him in surprise. "Me? You never let me go first."

"Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything. You're the one who made all this happen, Daniel. It's only right that you lead the Ur-mah-gal to their new home."

Daniel smiled. "Thanks, Jack." Turning to the gate, he said in Hetaran, "Come, Brothers. Let us go to your new home." Then, with a hundred Ur-mah-gal following in his wake, he stepped through the event horizon.

As he emerged from the other side, Daniel was surprised to see at least four hundred Hetarans waiting. Pausing only a moment, he quickly moved aside to make room for the arriving Ur-mah-gal. As the Hetarans and Ur-mah-gal saw each other, Daniel was wishing that he had a video camera. Then he saw a person off to the side who looked like he had some kind of recording device. Maybe he could get a copy of what they filmed.

For several seconds, there was utter silence. Then Gilmesh stepped forward. In a loud voice he called, "Welcome to New Hetara, Brothers! We rejoice at your arrival."

With those words, the Ur-mah-gal and Hetarans moved toward each other. Soon, the big cats were being greeted happily by the humans, children dancing around them.

Jack, Sam and Teal'c came up beside Daniel, and they all watched the festivities in silence for a while. It was Daniel's quiet voice that broke their silence.

"When I was with the Nox, Lya told me that I wasn't quite so young as they had believed me to be. They could see that I was someone who didn't want to fight, somebody who wished to live in peace with others. I look at that," he pointed to the joyful Hetarans reuniting with the Ur-mah-gal, "two totally different species living in peace with each other, and I wonder how long it will be before the nations of Earth all manage to get along with each other. It seems pretty foolish that people of the same species can't stop fighting amongst themselves."

"Yeah, you're right," Jack agreed. "It seems even more foolish when you know about what's out there in the universe. I sometimes wonder if everyone on Earth knew about the Goa'uld and everything else, would we still keep fighting with each other?"

"Yeah."

Jack laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "This is a really good thing you did, Daniel."

The archeologist smiled. "It makes it all worthwhile, you know? All the pain I suffered when I thought that I would never go back to Earth or be a part of the SGC or SG-1 again, the loneliness I felt when I was on Hetara with no human company."

"From great sorrow can come great joy," Teal'c said in his deep, serious voice.

Jack looked at him. "That's very profound, Teal'c."

"And also very true," Daniel added. "But I have to wonder. We've suffered so much pain while fighting the Goa'uld, and I know that we're going to suffer a lot more before everything's finished. Do you think that we'll find enough joy in the end to make it all worthwhile?"

"Yeah, Danny, I think we will," Jack replied, "because the day we get rid of the Goa'uld forever will be the greatest day in the history of mankind."

Turning back to the crowd, SG-1 thought about that day when humans across the galaxy would see an end to the Goa'uld and rejoice.

THE END 


End file.
